School Rumble: Twist, Twist, and Turn
by pizza blade
Summary: This story is in a temporary pending. If you do decide to read it, a review would be most certainly appreciated. Thank you.
1. Rumble 1

**SCHOOL RUMBLE: TWIST, TWIST, & TURN**

**By: Pizza Blade**

**PART ONE**

* * *

**07.00 AM, Sunday, Tsukamoto's Residence.**

…

……

"Nooooooooo!"

The shocking scream echoed throughout the Tsukamoto's residence, shaking the walls and windows of the entire house.

Tsukamoto Yakumo, who at the moment was busy preparing breakfast, stood silent for a while. She didn't appear to be surprised though, as if a soul-shattering scream was one of those usual morning things on her house.

Not a moment too long later, she heard fast footsteps approaching the kitchen.

When the kitchen's door opened, standing behind it was none other than her older-sister, Tsukamoto Tenma.

"Nee-san." said Yakumo politely. "Good morning."

"Y…Yakumo…" Tenma's face was all flustered, the antennas on her hair constantly flipping upside down. "W…What time is it?"

Yakumo stared at her sister for a while.

…

Words like: "LATE! LATE! LATE", "WHAT TIME IS IT?", "NO! NO! NO!", and "I AM HUNGRY!" swirled around her sister's head.

…

Yakumo was a person gifted by an unusual ability to read other people's minds, specifically those who had some sort of feelings for her, be they romantically inclined or not. This ability usually put her into some sort of unwanted trouble, since most of the times the things she read around people's heads were all sort of stuff that she didn't want to read. She didn't know why she has this kind of unusual power, nor the reason why she owned it.

…

"Don't worry, Nee-san." Yakumo smiled, giving her attention back to the food she was cooking. "It's only seven in the morning. It's not too late for your date with Karasuma-sempai yet."

Tenma quickly steered her eyes to the clock nailed at one side of the kitchen walls. When she saw that the short arrow was pointing at the number 7 and the long one stopped at number 12, she gave a great sighing relief.

…

"Fwahhh… " she sighed while slowly walking to the eating table and tumbled herself down onto one of the chairs there. "Thank goodness I am not too late… It's not too late yet… I thought I am going to be late……"

"That is why, Nee-san, I reminded you last night, don't watch too much TV." said Yakumo gently, while putting down the breakfast on the table. She then put a plate, a fork, and a spoon in front of her sister and took the same things for herself. "Today is an important day for you."

"I know… I know…" Tenma answered, waving her hands while her eyes staring at the breakfast Yakumo had prepared. "I am sorry—but last night the show was particularly good, you know! I mean, the way they defeated all of those bad guys! HYAH! HYAH!"

Tsukamoto Tenma was a person comprised of very rare materials, indeed. Not one moment ago she was flustered and panicked, but now she's posing martial arts movements pretending that the fork and the spoon were samurai swords.

She's pretty good at her pose too.

…

"I know the show is very good." said Yakumo, talking about her sister's number one most favourite TV show ever: "The Three Who Were Slashed", starring Yakushamaru Kouji, yours truly. And last night was a special 3-hours show, commemorating the show's 10 years of broadcast, or something like that.

"But you shouldn't endanger a day as important like this just for a television show, Nee-san."

"Okay, sorry…" Tenma stopped her samurai pose. She sat down on the chair.

…

Instead of eating, however, she began to smile non-stop while the words HAPPY!, YEAH!, ALL RIGHT!, swerving around her head for Yakumo to see. It appeared like her head was now full of lots, lots, of happy thoughts.

Yakumo smiled.

She was happy to see her sister happy. For her, the happy face of her sister was one of the most treasured things in her life.

…

"So…" Yakumo said, starting to eat her own-made breakfast. "Where are you going to go for your date with Karasuma-sempai, Nee-san?"

"Ah, ah, come on Yakumoo…" Tenma answered, blushing furiously, waving her hands back and forth to Yakumo shyly. "You shouldn't call it a date…, we're just going out together for a while, you know… spending some time together…… doing stuff that couples usually do…"

Tenma giggled.

"…But I suppose by the definition you CAN call it a date…" She then continued her non-stop happy face paired with that dashingly irresistible cute non-stop happy smile.

"…Nee-san, you are not eating your breakfast." Yakumo pointed out.

…

Tenma did not answer her question, but truthfully it didn't matter much for her. As long as her sister was happy, she couldn't care less where their date was going to took place.

…

But you really couldn't call Tenma as Tenma unless she was able to switch her emotions almost instantaneously. Just not too long after she smiled happily, she suddenly sighed heavily.

…

"But you know, Yakumo…" Tenma started to eat her sister's cooking; as always, delicious and energizing. "I don't know whether Karasuma-kun was thinking that we're going out on a date or not, though…"

"What do you mean?" Yakumo asked, aware of the sudden change on the air of how her sister spoke. The words happy and such disappeared from around her sister's head.

Tenma's face turned to be serious—a rare occasion, actually, for her to think anything seriously.

"I mean…" she said. "Whenever the two of us were going out, his face was always indifferent, you know? He always seemed to be…, you know…, emotionless… I couldn't tell whether he was happy going out together with me or not… Maybe he never thought those times went together as dates, anyway… Maybe it's the same for him like for me when I went out with Eri-chan or Miko-chan…"

Tenma sighed helplessly.

"Hhhhh…" She dropped her face on the edge of the eating table. "Karasuma-kun, why does your face is sooo difficult to read?"

…

Yakumo stopped eating for a moment and think about what her sister just said.

She never had the chance to meet—or conversed—with Karasuma-sempai very often, other then the times she visited her sister's class to deliver her lunchbox she so frequently forgot (or accidentally switched). Other then what her sister told her every night and day about him; she really did not know much about the person himself. But from what she could see, though, although he did not appear to be a bad person, the person himself was…

…

Well…

…

……'Unusual' was clearly an understatement, really…

…

Every time she saw him, his face was always blank. He had this weird habit of staring out through the window, as if he could see something interesting happening on the far-far side of the world out there in the horizon. He seemed so… detached. His face, like her sister just said, was always expressionless. She wondered how it was possible for a person to even show that kind of face.

Of course, she could not read his mind either. Other then Harima-san, Karasuma-sempai was the second male on her school that she could not read even for the tiniest little bit. She's got this weird feeling, however, that even if she should able to read Karasuma-sempai's minds, all that she's going able to see inside was emptiness… or something similar like that.

…

"But the most important thing is Karasuma-sempai agreeing to go out with you, Nee-san." Yakumo finally said, after being drowned in her own thought. "I am sure that he is happy to be going out with you."

"Really?" Tenma's face was cheering up considerably. "You think so?"

"Yes…" Yakumo felt relieved that her sister's worries being swept away from her face. "A…, a friend told me…"

For a moment, the face of Harima flashed out in Yakumo's mind.

…

"…A friend told me…" she continued, trying to focus, her eyes staring at her plate. "What is, exactly, the thing called _dating_. That… that friend, told me that dating is when you go out sharing lots of precious moments together with the person you care about. Dating is all about wanting to be together with a loved one when you pass through those times where everything seems to be priceless, everything seems to be beautiful……"

"Hee……" Tenma stared unblinkingly at her sister, seemingly amazed at the words of her sister.

…

"Nee-san." Yakumo continued, staring at her sister. "You care about Karasuma-sempai, right?"

Tenma blushed, her face went all red.

"W…what are you asking me all of the sudden, Yakumo?" she said. "O… o…, of course I am!"

"Those moments when you go out with Karasuma-sempai before…, like when you…" Yakumo stopped for a while, trying to pick one of the date-with-Karasuma-sempai's stories that her sister has told her previously, "…Like when you went to see pro-wrestling together… You thought of those moments as precious, right?"

"Of course!" Tenma said confidently.

"Then those are dates…" Yakumo said with a conclusive tone. "I am sure that those are dates, just like this one, Nee-san. I am sure Karasuma-sempai is thinking the same way about it too, and I am sure that he is as happy as you are when you two going out together… He just…"

…

Yakumo chose her words carefully.

…

"…He just did not know how to show it, that's all… You don't have to worry about it…"

"Hee……" Tenma stared at Yakumo.

…

……

………

"Nee-san?" Yakumo took her eyes away from her plate and stared at her sister. For a brief moment, the only sound in the kitchen was the sound of her spoon and fork chiming on her plate, and the sound of singing cicadas out there through the kitchen's windows, and she was wandering why her sister just went quiet all of the sudden.

When she stared at Tenma, she found that her older sister was staring at her, both eyes wide open, sparkling anime-style.

…

"Nee-san?" Yakumo said again quietly. She never before had seen her sister staring at her the way she's doing it right now. Did she say anything wrong just before? Did she choose the wrong words? Did her sister misunderstand her intentions of wanting to cheer her up using all of those explanations?

…

"Wow." Tenma finally spoke; her eyes didn't even blink all the time she was staring at Yakumo. "Yakumo, you sure are good with this kind of stuff, aren't you?"

"Eh?" Yakumo was caught unaware by the question.

"I mean, really…" Tenma still staring at Yakumo relentlessly, "I mean, the Yakumo I usually know have had little experiences with boys and stuff like dates. I am very surprised that you seem to be so knowledgeable about these kinds of things… The way you spoke earlier…, sooo professional. Since when you became such a love-love expert, Yakumo?"

…

…Love-love expert?

…

Yakumo could see "Yakumo is so amazing!" appeared at the top of her sister's head and circling it endlessly.

"N…no…, I am not…" Yakumo replied nervously. She quickly moved her eyes away from her sister back to her breakfast plate.

…

_I am just repeating what I heard from Harima-san back then when we drew manga together at Itoko-Sensei's place_…, she thought inside her mind. _It's not like I am an expert at those kinds of things_…, _I am merely repeating Harima-san's words and adding little bits of words here and there myself_…

…

But now that she gave it a thought, she was actually rather surprised at the fact that for a moment, she indeed sounded so…capable…at those kinds of things. It was as if the words just flowed seamlessly from her mind to her lips. She did not even paused when she spoke earlier.

She never knew that she could speak like that…

It was… quite unlike her…

…

"But the words you said were so beautiful!" exclaimed Tenma. "Just like those we used at the play at the Culture Festival! So sophisticated! So poetry! So…… so… umm…"

Tenma gave it a thought for a while.

…

"……So _dashing_!" she said it finally.

…

"No…not really…" Yakumo said quietly. She knew that no matter what she said, she couldn't change her sister's opinion, but nevertheless she felt uncomfortable by the thought of her sister calling her a love-love expert…

"Really, Yakumo…" Tenma kept pressing on the matter. She even forgot to eat her share of breakfast. "I guess many things must have happened to you while I am not looking, eh? For the inexperienced Yakumo to be able to say such things…, wow… your Nee-san is proud, Yakumo! Proud!"

Yakumo did not say anything, but her face began to blush a little.

"But since when you…" Tenma suddenly stopped.

…

She put her index finger on her chin; her eyes went up, posing the patented Tenma's-Thinking expression. When Yakumo peeked to her sister, the sentence such as 'Yakumo is so amazing' has disappeared, but instead now…

…

…"I KNOW NOW'" popped suddenly around Tenma's head.

Yakumo suddenly felt something bad was about to happen.

…

"I know! I know!" Tenma clapped her hands spiritedly. She's eyeing her sister teasingly, while her lips formed a mischievous smile—another undisputed bad signs for Yakumo.

"I know why you all of the sudden became such a love-love expert, Yakumo…"

"W…what do you mean?" Yakumo said nervously.

"I mean, you used to be so naïve when it comes to matters such as love, boys, and such." Tenma said, in a teasing tone. "But I bet you've been gaining information here and there since now you're dating with Harima-kun!"

…

Now it's the time for Yakumo to blush furiously.

…

"N…Nee-san…" Yakumo quickly replied, "I've been telling you many, many times…, Harima-san and I are not…"

"Oh, come on, Yakumo, I know it's because Harima-kun that now you've become such a love-love expert!" Tenma quickly demolished Yakumo's attempt to reason with her, "I mean, back then when I wanted to buy something for Karasuma-kun's birthday, Harima-kun also gave me a very good advice about this kind of stuff!"

…

Tenma stopped for a while, thinking again (while being oblivious to Yakumo's attempts to tell her the truth.)

…

"You know…" Tenma said thoughtfully, "When you look at him, you couldn't really tell that Harima-kun is a man that you could depend on about stuff like this. To tell you the truth, Yakumo, I myself was surprised when he told me about how I should deal with Karasuma-kun's birthday presents—I've never thought before that Harima-kun is so knowledgeable about love…"

Tenma quickly stared back at Yakumo, seemingly unaware that her little sister has been trying to tell her something important.

…

"So you see, when I think about it, it's no wonder after all!" she exclaimed happily. "I am relieved that Harima-kun's positive aspects are finally rubbing themselves on you! You two are such a _kawaii_ couple!"

…

"Nee-san…" Yakumo mumbled weakly, a bit frustrated that she was unable to penetrate her sister's formidable defence, "Really, Harima-san and I are not a…"

"I KNOW!" Tenma yelled suddenly, making Yakumo jerked on her chair a bit out of surprise. Not too long for Yakumo to realize that her sister all of the sudden yelling I KNOW should soon translate as yet another undisputed bad sign for her. "I KNOW!"

…

"You know, what…, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked apprehensively.

"Me and Karasuma-kun were both planning to go to a new curry restaurant near our school for our date today." Tenma answered heartily. "Why don't you and Harima-san tagging along as well?"

"…"

…

It took Yakumo a couple of seconds to input this new information to her brain.

After that, all that she could say was…

"W…what?"

"Yes, you and Harima-kun!" Tenma pointed a finger at Yakumo.

"Me…, a…and Harima-san?" Yakumo stammered—it seemed a part of her brain just suddenly went down.

"Yup! Yup!" Tenma nodded vigorously. "You know, so we can do a double date!"

"D…double date?"

…

Yakumo never thought that a peaceful morning like this could have possibly turned itself this way. It was really, totally, unexpected. But then again, her sister was totally the definition of unexpected. And now, Yakumo seemed already being tangled inside her sister's formidable pace, unable to escape…

…

"Yes!" Tenma answered, still energetically. "You and Harima just do whatever it is that you both usually do when you guys went for a date, and I'll be watching from behind. That way I can learn things from both of you about how to date properly so that I can use it next time I go with Karasuma-kun!"

…

…"N…nee-san, that's…" Yakumo said, before Tenma—expectedly—cuts her off again mid-sentence.

"…And you know what, you know what, Yakumo?" Tenma said as she blushed. "If you and Harima-kun like, for example, holding hands, who knows, maybe that Karasuma-kun might be tempted to hold my hands as well…"

Tenma already went to her own happy-happy-fantasy-land.

…

"And if you guys kiss, who knows that maybe Karasuma-kun…"

……

Both of them blushed furiously, although of course for totally different reasons: Tenma imagining herself kissing Karasuma-kun while for Yakumo the image of she and Harima kissing each other appeared to be too much of a mental burden.

…

"Right! It's decided then!" Tenma exclaimed profoundly when she finally took off from her happy-happy-fantasy-land. "The four of us are going to do a double-date!"

Yakumo wanted to point the fact that the terms 'It's decided then' really should not be used since her sister was not asking her consent about the plan at all, but when she saw Tenma's excited face burning up with undefeated vigour, Yakumo suddenly felt something twitched inside her heart.

…

Something about she did not want to see her sister's disappointed face…

…

……

Maybe it's just better if she went along with the plan anyway…

More than anything else, the thing that she hated the most was to see her sister's disappointed face…

…

"But Karasuma-sempai might not want to do a double-date, Nee-san…" Yakumo said helplessly, as this argument would most probably be her last chance to change her sister's mind. "Harima-san might not want to do it as well. I don't even know whether he had any time for this…"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Tenma said, giving her two thumbs up to Yakumo. "I am sure Karasuma-kun wouldn't mind, and Harima-kun should, of course, wouldn't be able to refuse the request of her beloved Yakumo! Right? I will call them right now! You'd better change, Yakumo!"

And -ZAP-, just like that, her formidable older sister ran from the kitchen to the telephone in the living room, clearly with the intentions of informing both Karasuma and Harima about her own brilliant (or so she thought) scheme.

…

……

For a moment, all Yakumo could do was so sit there, at the eating table, motionless, staring at the kitchen's door where her sister just zapped through.

…

Her sister was definitely an impressive person.

……

………

Anyway, Yakumo thought herself…

Maybe there would still a chance that this double date wouldn't be happening after all. What she said earlier might be true, after all.

Maybe Karasuma-sempai might not want to go on a double date. After all, her sister said that they would go a new curry restaurant. Enjoying a nice, spicy curry with your date was something much more enjoyable without the presence of another person…… moreover, another couple, right?

…

R…right?

…

And… and, Harima-san might not go along with this plan after all. He might have been too busy right now, working on his manga and whatnot, not enough spare time for him to leisurely go on a double date… right? That's right… he must be busy after all…

…

Yakumo felt nervous as she clung on this last tiny bit of rope. She ensured herself that somehow, one of those two possibilities could happen so that her sister would cancel this double date plan of hers…

…

Then she heard footsteps fast approaching the kitchen.

…

"It's decided!" Tenma exclaimed happily by the time she arrived at the kitchen. "Both of them say its okay! Get ready Yakumo! We will go at eight!"

The last tiny bit of rope had just snapped.

* * *

**07.00 AM, Sunday, Osakabe Itoko's Residence.**

…

……

"Kenji-kun." Itoko knocked Harima's door. "Kenji-kun!"

…

Harima opened both of his eyes; both still completely red. He did not get enough sleep last night, thanks to the magnificent 3 hours special of "The Three Who Were Slashed", starring Yakushamaru Kouji, yours truly. He just couldn't get enough of Mangoku's wicked sword-slashing action.

…

And after those magnificent 3 hours of samurai awesomeness, his mind was just so full with awesome new ideas for his manga, he couldn't wait for tomorrow (today) to work on them. So, for another 3 hours after that, he was completely absorbed with his manga, drawing and drawing and drawing non-stop, until finally at 1 in the morning his eyes just couldn't hold on anymore.

…

"Kenji-kun!" Itoko said again, this time a bit more forceful.

"Whaaaaattt?" said Harima groggily.

"Wake up already!" she said. "And open the door!"

…

Harima woke up from his bed, and walking numbly towards the door. His surroundings spun like crazy in his eyes, his mind kept on repeating the mantra: _sleep_, _sleep_, _sleep_, _sleep_…

…

Harima opened the door.

…

"What?" he said to Itoko.

For a while, Itoko just simply stared at him.

"Itoko…" Harima grumbled. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." Itoko answered. "It's just I am quite amazed that even in your sleep, you are still wearing that sunglasses of yours."

"No biggie." Harima said, turning his back against Itoko and walking back to his bed in zip-zap motion, clearly with the intention of going back to sleep.

"I guess you've been wearing it too long that you just feel weird every time you're not wearing it, do you?" Itoko entered Harima's room. She rarely entered this room unless there was some sort of special occasion, but one thing that Harima always managed to subtly impress her with was the fact that the room was nearly always clean and tidy every time she's here.

…

Maybe, behind Harima's rugged and fearsome exterior, and aura of laziness, he really was a diligent person…

…

-BRUG-

Harima successfully threw himself onto his bed and by a mere 2 seconds later, starts snoring.

…

… _or maybe not_, Itoko added to her thought.

……

"Hey." she said, approaching the small table where Harima's manga paper was spread. She picked them up, lining them orderly, and then started reading. "Go buy some food and drink at the grocery store. We ran out of supply."

…

Harima kept snoring.

…

"You have a bike, you can do it faster then me." said Itoko, going into the second page. "And you are a man. It's a man's duty to do this kind of work, you know? It is a man's responsibility to help a woman in need."

…

Harima's snoring went louder.

…

"I've been providing for you." said Itoko, staring at the drawing of a girl very much like Tsukamoto Tenma at the bottom of the second page. The drawings were quite good, actually. "I am also letting you stay at my apartment, so grocery shopping should not be too hard of a repayment for my kindness, right?"

Itoko went to the third page. She felt rather amused reading Harima's manga: a story about a samurai wearing sunglasses at the Edo period in a lovey-dovey situation with a klutzy princess was definitely something that you just couldn't find anywhere else.

…

"And you buy the groceries with my money, anyway." Itoko continued. "So you really have nothing to lose by doing this favour. In fact, by doing this you will become a nicer person."

…

Harima was still snoring.

…

"…Oh well…" Itoko said, sighing. "Guess I'll be going for myself, then. But mind you, going shopping alone is very, very, boring."

…

Harima's snoring just went through the roof.

…

"I will need some sort of distraction so that I won't be bored." Itoko said smoothly, arranging Harima's manga papers into one neat stack. "Therefore, I might take this interesting manga with me and reading them while I am shopping."

Harima's snoring suddenly stopped.

…

Itoko turned and walked slowly to the door.

"Right." she said. "I'll be taking this then. And the grocery shop I will go to is quite popular to the students of the school. Maybe I will meet with one or two of them, or maybe more, since this is Sunday. Of course, they might be bored doing their share of _lonely_ grocery shopping too, so I might give them some manga to provide them with an entertainment…"

…

-ZAP-

Faster then a ninja, Harima already moved from his bed to the front of his room's door.

…

"Where's the money?" he said, with a suddenly refreshed voice, unlike a drowsy person still in need of a heavy sleep.

"In the living room." Itoko said, smiling. Threat was _definitely_ an effective method to cure a lazy person. "It's there along with the list of things that you need to buy."

"Right then, now it's the time to do some manly job; grocery shopping." Harima said confidently. "And _don't_ touch my manga."

* * *

**07.20 AM, Sunday. The Grocery Shop**.

…

……

Grocery shopping might be a manly job, but that did not mean by being a man then doing it would be easier.

Harima Kenji has just learned this overlooked, yet important, lesson of life, when he was shopping in a grocery store not too far from his cousin's apartment.

…

First of all, he needed to overlook the fact that in the eyes of practically everybody besides him, it was a strange thing that a tough looking, sunglasses wearing, delinquent-ish guy like him actually prancing around inside a grocery store, carrying shopping basket like a house wife.

…

"_They must have thought that I am a handsome person_." Harima said to himself, when—by the 20th time—a person in the grocery store was looking at him suspiciously. "_Otherwise they wouldn't look at me that much_._ Hmph_._ If only Tenma-chan would think the same_."

…

Secondly, he never realized it before that fulfilling a simple shopping list written on a small piece of paper would become a long and stressing task.

…

For example, one of the items one the list was "Ten Good Eggs". Now, how should he differentiate between good and bad eggs? He's standing right at the front of the eggs for sale right now, but for all the life in the world he could not tell the difference between each and every one of them. They were all looked the same for him. Round, long, egg-like. Which one was good and which one was bad?

…

…Sheeshh, whatever.

He picked 10 eggs randomly, telling himself that like him, Itoko wouldn't be able to tell the difference between good and bad eggs anyway.

…

Number three: grocery shop was a public place, and as such, people could freely come and go there at their own leisure, as long as the shop itself opens. With that in mind, there's a probability that you could meet someone you knew there. That might not be so bad in the first place, but it's a different case altogether if that someone you knew was someone you did _not_ want to meet.

Like what happened to Harima now.

…

By the time he turned into the Milk section, looking for "A Fresh Milk", he spotted two of his fellow classmates, Hanai Haruki and Suou Mikoto, both wearing casual clothes, shopping together.

…

Now, Suou was an alright girl whom he did not have any problems whatsoever, but the four-eyes was a completely different matter. He was a nosey person, for one. Then, he represented all the characteristics of something that in a manga you could call a "Defender of Justice". Then, he excelled both in athletics and studies.

Then he… Then he…, and then…

…

……

Well, to cut things short, lets just say that he and Harima were a completely, totally, polar opposites. Even though Hanai was not actually a bad guy in the truest sense of the word, Harima still just couldn't afford to be comfortable being around him for more than necessary.

Just as he turned his hide away from the Milk section, careful so that both Hanai and Mikoto did not see him, he glanced back at both of them for the last time.

…

What are they doing anyway, doing grocery shopping together this time of morning? Are they preparing for some sort of special Sunday event or something?

But aside from that, those two looked so damn natural with each other, didn't they? Looking at those two shopping together really made them appear like husband and wife. But then again, maybe, childhood friends just had the knack of being able to be that close without being interested in each other like that.

…

_If only Tenma-chan and I were childhood friends_……, Harima thought to himself.

Imagine the possibilities then… Shopping together, playing together…

…

Heh, …whatever.

…

Harima decided that his shopping time was enough. Even though he did not yet manage to complete all the items in the list, it did not matter. He would just let Itoko shop for the missing items later on her own.

Quickly and stealthily so that Hanai and Mikoto did not spot him, he approached the paying counter, paid his shopping items, and went back to the apartment.

* * *

**Around 07.45 AM, Sunday. Osakabe Itoko's Residence**.

…

……

Well, the fourth thing that was so difficult about grocery shopping was happening not while you're doing the shopping itself, but rather when you got back from it. You see, grocery shopping usually took about 30 or 40 minutes of your life in order to be completed, and during that precious 30 or 40 minutes, something important might just happened involving you somewhere and you wouldn't be able to get involved in it, just because you were shopping at the time.

Like what happened now, to Harima Kenji.

…

"I am back!" Harima shouted to announce his arrival by the time he arrived at Itoko's apartment. He walked casually towards the living room, found Itoko watching TV there, and put down all of the shopping stuffs at the table not far from her.

"Welcome back." Itoko said without removing her eyes from the TV. "Have you got everything I wrote on the list?"

"No." Harima answered flatly. He walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, picking up the last can of Orange Juice, and drank it. "But the things I bought should be enough for around a month, anyway, or two months if both of us are going for a diet."

Itoko did not seem mad that Harima did not buy everything she wrote on the list—in fact, it seemed that she was kind of expecting it.

…

"By the way," Itoko said casually. "Tsukamoto-kun called."

-BLURP-

The mere mention of Tenma's name was enough to make Harima choking up. He immediately ran to the living room and stood up between Itoko and the TV, demanding an explanation.

…

"W…What?" he said, the corners of his lips still wet from the Orange Juice.

"I said Tsukamoto-kun, the older sister, called here when you went shopping." Itoko answered. "And will you please get out of the way? I am watching the show here!"

Harima did not move.

"She _called_?" he said again, totally shocked. "Tenma-ch… S…she called here? But why didn't she call…"

Just then, Harima remembered that he did not bring his cell phone with him while he was shopping. How s-t-u-p-i-d!

…

"That's because you did not bring your cell phone, thus she called here." Itoko answered, seemingly getting little annoyed because Harima was blocking the TV screen. "And I won't tell you what it's about unless you move out of the way."

"So…sorry." Harima said quickly; he side-stepped so that he didn't block the TV screen. "So, what did she say?"

"She asked whether Harima-kun had any plans for today, so I said no." Itoko paused for a moment, before continuing, "Then she asked whether Harima-kun would want to go to this new curry restaurant together with her, so I say yes."

Itoko turned her eyes away from the TV to Harima, to witness his reaction.

…

……

Finally! Finally! FINALLY! Harima thought to himself; while both his eyes sprouting tears-of-happiness, his lips smiling broadly, his heart bursting with explosiveness.

…

FINALLY THE DAY HAS COME! Harima yelled to himself again. The day when Tenma-chan finally admitted his feelings for her! She must have somewhat picking up clues along the way for his love to her by the time they've been together all these times, and BAM!—just like that, when she woke up this morning, she suddenly realized the truth!

FINALLY! FINALLY! No wonder Mangoku seemed so awesome last night! It must have been an omen for this beautiful development of his life!

…

FINALLY!

"By the way…" Itoko continued, "Her sister is coming too, along with a boy she called Karasuma-kun."

FI…

…

"What?"

…

And with the mention of Karasuma's name, Harima took flight from his patented happy-happy-fantasy-land back to the harsh world of reality. He quickly steered his eyes to Itoko, once again blurting a questioning, "What?"

"That's what she said." Itoko said, her eyes back on the TV. "She said that she wanted to do a double-date, with her and some boy she called Karasuma-kun, along with you and her sister, Tsukamoto Yakumo-kun."

…

…

Harima's happy-happy-fantasy-land suddenly crumbled; destroyed pieces by pieces ever so quickly.

…

…….

So Tenma-chan was planning to go on a date with that weird guy and she's asking me to tag along on it together with Imouto-san?

What the hell?

…

Harima's face quickly turned gloomy. There was this sudden dark aura surrounding his body, sapping away all of his energy and enthusiasm.

……

Of course…, he thought to himself sadly. It was rather silly to think that Tenma-chan would all of the sudden, out of the blue, reciprocate his feelings for her just like that. Fate just wouldn't allow anything to work as easily as that, you know…

Plus, it seemed like Tenma-chan still wasn't able to see the truth behind his true nature of relationship with Imouto-san, asking for a double date like that…

…

"If that's the case, then, I'd rather not go." Harima said heavily, his mood turned bleak. "I would like to continue my manga for today."

As much as he wanted to go out with Tenma-chan during a beautiful, clear, and sunny Sunday like this, he wouldn't want to do it if that means he must be forced to watch her clinging all the time to that guy. No way. It was just too painstakingly awful to bear.

He would rather work on his manga than that. Actually, he would rather do _anything_ than that.

…

"No can do." Itoko said casually. "You have already agreed to go."

"Excuse me?" Harima replied in surprise. "What do you mean I have agreed to go?"

Itoko sighed. He turned off the TV with the remote, stood up, and stared directly to Harima's face.

…

"I am using this to answer the phone." she said, picking up what it seemed as a small electronic device from her pocket. She put the small device in front of her mouth, and then she spoke, "I mean, _with this_ _voice_."

…

Harima was totally surprised. The voice he heard just now coming out from Itoko's mouth was clearly not hers: it's his voice! There's no mistaking it, it was definitely his voice!

…

Itoko was clearly amused by Harima's reaction. She then continued,

"This is a voice-changing device I invented." still with Harima's voice. "With this device, you can easily change the voice of which you speak with to the voice of another person whose voice already recorded within it. Of course, I have recorded your voice, Kenji-kun, among many other people…"

…

Wow, Harima was definitely impressed.

He knew that Itoko has this weird hobby of creating her own spy-ish electronic devices, but he would never thought before that she was capable of creating a device as neat as _that_. It seemed like although he's living together with her, there's still a lot that he didn't know about the woman standing in front of him right now.

This is awesome! This is just like some sort of the device he once read on a famous detective manga!

…

"Wow!" Harima said enthusiastically. "So with that device, you can change your voice to another person's voice when you speak? That is like, totally awesome!"

"Yes." Itoko answered matter-of-factly. "With your voice, I—well, you, according to her, actually—have already agreed on Tsukamoto-kun's invitation."

…

…_Wait a minute_! Harima slapped his own forehead. _This is not the time to be impressed by electronic gadgets, no matter how wicked they are_! he thought to himself. _There are more important matters for me to think about_!

…

"Yo…you mean by using that device you impersonate your voice as mine?" Harima asked incredulously.

"Yes." Itoko answered.

"And you said—with my voice—that you have agreed going to this double-date with Tenm…Tsukamoto?" Harima's eyes were getting larger and larger with each question, though Itoko couldn't really see it because of his sunglasses.

"That's the gist of it." Itoko answered, still casually, and still with Harima's voice.

…

……

"But wh---------y would you do that?" Harima exclaimed loudly. His face filled with the word 'PANIC' right now. "I would have never agreed to an invitation like that!"

"Why?" this time Itoko spoke with her own voice. She put her own neat device on her pocket and put both her hands on each side of her waist, sensei-style activated. "I thought you would love to go out with Tsukamoto-kun on a beautiful day like this. It's better than being stuck in your room drawing that manga all day, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's true, but that's only if me and her alone!" Harima said with a depressed voice. Now he must be willing to embrace the sight of her beloved Tenma-chan being giggly-happy around that weird guy.

Even the image was capable of sending a painful stab on his heart! He couldn't imagine what it would be like when he later sees the terror firsthand!

…

Itoko raised one of her eyebrows.

"So you hate Tsukamoto-kun's little sister and this Karasuma-kun, is that it?" she inquired.

"No—it's not like that!" Harima waved his hand quickly.

Clearly, he did not hate Imouto-san. In fact, he rather enjoyed the times they both spent together when they were both discussing matters of his manga. He wouldn't mind if Imouto-san tagging along should he someday having a date with Tenma-chan.

…

But that weird guy……

……

Did he _hate_ him?...

…

……_No_, Harima thought to himself. He did not hate him or anything like that. In fact… _hating him would most definitely make Tenma-chan hating me_, should she found out about it. No, he did not hate him…

It's just that, regarding the matters of Tenma-chan, those feelings of……_dislike_…… just somehow always managed to creep its way to his heart every time he saw the alien guy.

He still couldn't really explain it well… But perhaps _dislike_ was really a better choice of word rather than _hate_ to describe his feelings to him…

…

Itoko just stood there and staring at her cousin as Harima was lost in his own thought.

…

After a short silent moment, she sighed once again. She patted Harima's shoulder, and then with the most serious-sounded voice she could muster, she spoke,

"Look." she said. "I don't know what's going on, I don't want to get involved on my students' love life or whatever, but since it is you, Kenji-kun, I will make an exception. The thing is, at first I actually thought that you would not want to receive Tsukamoto-kun's invitation, and I just this close to decline it using your voice…" She put her left palm in front of Harima's voice and moved her index and middle finger closer to each other. "But then, I thought of something…"

"What?" Harima said desperately. His mood to do anything today has been shattered already; he couldn't even put a little bit of spirit on his voice.

"I thought…" Itoko's voice rose a bit. "Hey, maybe accepting her offer would be better for you, Kenji-kun!"

"Why would you think that?" Harima said, still in a desperate tone.

"Because instead of lurking inside your room all day, crying and moaning helplessly, every once in a while you _should_ pat yourself in the back and say, 'I must fight for love!'" Itoko said, still with the sensei-ish tone of speaking, "Why don't you just go? During the date, you show to Tsukamoto-kun just how much of a better person you are compared to the boy she's going out with!"

…

……Well, that's actually not so bad of an idea, Harima thought to himself.

……

"This is a perfect chance for Tsukamoto-kun to see you as a man!" Itoko continued, "Just act all gentlemanly in front of her, show to her that you are the perfect man for her, do the nicest things you can do, and by the time the double-date ends, she should probably think to herself: _Wow_, I've never thought Harima-kun is a such a nice person! He is _so_ much better than Karasuma-kun! Maybe…, maybe…, wait, what is this feeling in my chest? Why does my heart feel unhappy seeing him together with my sister? Look at the way Karasuma-kun acted today! He was nothing compared to the greatness that is Harima-kun! Just look on how he treated my sister compared to how Karasuma-kun treated me! Why haven't I noticed it before? Why, oh why?"

…

Itoko used Tenma's voice starting from the word "Wow, I've never thought…" to enhance the effect of her words, and it seemed to have worked quite nicely. Harima took flight to his own fantasy realm, imagining that the real Tenma-chan herself saying those nice words to him, thinking that he IS a better man than that Karasuma, and why she never noticed it until now……

This might be the chance he has been waiting for all this time!

…

Harima grasped Itoko's shoulders so sudden that she was a bit shocked by it.

"Itoko!" he said with a fiery, manly, determined voice. "Thank you! You are really the best Itoko, ever!"

"No matter." she said, smiling, amused by Harima's abrupt change of mood. "But you'd better hurry. The meeting time is 8.30, in front of the school gates."

"Right!" Harima nodded enthusiastically. "I'd better prepare myself then! I should wear my best clothes and wear my best cologne!"

"You don't _wear _cologne, you _use _it…" Itoko said slowly, but Harima already zapped his way to the bathroom.

…

Itoko sighed again.

_The fiery of youth_, she thought to herself. _Well, it doesn't mean that I am not young either_…, she added quickly.

She approached the table where Harima put his shopping items before, and examining it one by one.

…

...Darn it, he didn't buy the Potato Chips!

* * *

**08.00 AM, Sunday. Tsukamoto's Residence.**

…

……

"Yakumooo!" Tenma yelled from the living room. "Aren't you ready yet? We must go now or we will be laaate!"

"J…Just a moment, Nee-san!" Yakumo replied from her room.

She really did not expect to be thrown into this kind of situation; going into a double-date with her sister, Karasuma-sempai, and Harima-san…

She just lost count already on how many times she tried to inform her sister that the relationship between her and Harima-san was not what her sister thought to be.

…

In fact, Yakumo stood silent for a moment, her eyes gazing at her own reflection on the mirror.

…In fact, she thought that Harima-san really has feelings for her sister. The resemblance of his main female protagonist on his manga with Nee-san was too striking to be called a mere coincidence, and seeing that the female protagonist fell in love with the male protagonist that looked _very _exactly like Harima-san—well, the conclusion was not that hard to find…

…

"_I wonder why Harima-san hasn't confessed to Nee-san yet…… was he afraid of being rejected?_" Yakumo continued to drown on her thought. But if she was Harima-san, she would most probably hesitate as well, seeing her sister's very high level of infatuation with Karasuma-sempai…

But why did Harima-san accepted her sister's invitation on a double-date such as this one? Truly, if he really liked her, seeing her getting along with Karasuma-sempai would not be the pleasant thing in the world… Or did Harima-san accept the offer just because it was her sister's request? Did he really willing to do that much just to fulfil her wants and needs?

…

……Not to mention there's this problem with Sawachika-sempai, who apparently harboured some sort of feeling for Harima-san…

…

Yakumo sighed.

At the contrast of what her sister thought of her now, she really was not an expert of love problems. Love was really a complicated thing—so many layers, so many surfaces, so many meanings…… Love was something too hard for someone like her to understand it completely…

…

"Yakumoo!" Tenma yelled again. "Hurry up!"

"I… I am coming, Nee-san!" she replied in a hurry. She cast a last look on her reflection to make sure that everything was appropriate, and hurried down to the living room where her sister waited impatiently.

…

"Hurry up, will you?" Tenma said by the time Yakumo arrived at the living room. "By the looks of it, we will be l……"

Tenma stopped mid-sentence as she gazed at Yakumo.

"W…what is it?" Yakumo felt nervous at her sister sizing her up like that. "Is something wrong, Nee-san?" She quickly examined her attire to find the reason why Tenma staring at her like that.

"Heeee…" Tenma smiled mischievously. "You seem like you don't want to go on this double-date before, but seeing that you are dressing all beautiful like that, I guess in reality you really DO want to go on this date after all."

"W…what?" Yakumo was taken aback by her sister's words. For a moment, she couldn't find anything appropriate to reply.

"I guess you really want to look all lovely for Harima-kun, eh?" Tenma said teasingly. "Well, I guess that can't be helped though. Let's go, Yakumo."

Before Yakumo could even say a word, Tenma ran behind her little sister and pushed her forward to the front door.

* * *

**08.30 AM, Sunday. In Front of the School Gates.**

…

……

"Look, Harima-kun is already there!" Tenma pointed cheerfully to Yakumo by the time both of them arrived near the front of the school gates.

Yakumo looked up, and her Nee-san was right. Harima-san was already there, standing aloofly at the front of the school gates. It seemed at the moment he was absorbed in his own thoughts, his face filled with seriousness.

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said quietly—she thought by looking at his face that Harima-san actually really dislike this idea of double-date after all. "Perhaps this double-date is not such a good idea aft…"

"Harimaaa-kuuun!" Tenma yelled cheerfully before Yakumo had the chance to finish her sentence. Harima, upon hearing Tenma's voice, quickly jerked out of his reverie, and almost immediately moved his eyes to where Tenma and Yakumo were standing.

…

"T…tenma-chan." he said slowly, breathlessly. Seeing Tenma dressed with ordinary clothing never failed to fasten his heart-beat. It's true, Tenma-chan really looked three times more beautiful in ordinary clothing than in school uniform; it's as if she was wearing all the stars in the sky right now—she sparkled ever so beautifully…

…

Truly, for Harima, she's a magnificent marvel to behold…

Tenma-chan was moving on slooo-----w motion…

Slo---ww…

…

"Hi!" Tenma said cheerfully when she and Yakumo arrived in front of Harima. As usual, she was completely oblivious to the fact that Harima was blushing furiously at the sight of her wearing usual clothing. "You arrived on time!"

_Alright_! Harima claimed inside his mind. _This is the first chance for me to show off just how much of a man I am_! _I'll definitely show Tenma-chan that I am a much better person than that Karasuma guy_!

"Of course!" Harima said with a boastful voice. "Being on time is what all man should do every time he makes promises!"

Ha! That Karasuma guy did not even come on time!

I win the first round!

…

"Umm..." Tenma quickly looked around. "Where's Karasuma-kun, I wonder? It's already eight thirty."

"He must be late, Nee-san." Yakumo said, stating the obvious. She peered towards Harima, and as usual, like before, his mind was impenetrable for her.

"Hm." Tenma mumbled. "Maybe he got stuck at a traffic jam, or something. He never late on our previous dates…"

The term 'on our previous dates' stung Harima's heart and nearly made his unhappy tears sprouting behind his sunglasses again. But of course, he wouldn't cry—after all, now it's the time for him to show the best of his gentlemanly side in front of his beloved Tenma-chan!

"But you know what, you know what, Harima-kun." Tenma moved closer to Harima and nudging him on the rib, smiling teasingly, "Yakumo really dressed up for this double-date, you know. First time I've ever seen her actually dressing up that long. Don't you have anything to say to her after all of her hard effort?"

"N…Nee-san!" Yakumo protested, her face went a little pink, "It's not like that! Harima-san, don't bother with what Nee-san just said, she…"

This is the moment where I should be a gentleman! Harima thought to himself. How stupid of me! The first thing a gentleman should say should be the praises for how beautiful the woman looked!

…

Harima stared at Yakumo.

…

…But you know, Harima said to himself yet again. She really looked different from the usual Imouto-san…

…

Well…, I guess I should praise her, then. It's a gentlemanly thing to do, right?

"Yeah." Harima said, feeling a bit awkward. He actually never praised a girl so openly before, so he got a little nervous doing it. Plus, his mind was all busy thinking what kind of praises he should give to Tenma-chan next. "You look lovely today, Imouto-san."

"T…thank you…" Yakumo replied quietly—her cheeks flushed a little bit.

Tenma just went "hee…hee" seeing her sister's slightly red face.

"_Yakumo is so cute_!" she said to herself.

…

All right! Harima's fiery determination burning up. Praising a girl was not as difficult as he thought would be, but the next one is the real thing! He shall give his best!

"B…b…" Harima's face went red as he stepped up in front of Tenma. "But… y…y…you…"

"Hm?" Tenma smiled with that amazingly cute face. Oh my God! Saying fancy stuffs to a girl is one thing, but saying fancy stuffs to a girl _you love_ is on a whole, whole, different level altogether!

"You… y…you look mo…more b…beau…beauti…"

"Oh!" Tenma jerked up. It seemed that her eyes caught something, and immediately thereafter, her cheeks went red.

"You… you look m…more beautifu…"

"Karasuma-kuun!" Tenma yelled, waving her hands energetically. "Here! Here! We're all already here!"

"…ful…" Harima finally managed to say the words, but it was useless, since Tenma's attention was not on him at the moment.

"In here!" Tenma yelled again.

…

Harima sighed in disappointment.

He turned his face to see the weird guy walking to them, wearing that same flat expressionless face he always wore each and every passing day.

He felt some sort of anger surfacing inside his heart. Of all the times he could have shown himself after being late…

Yakumo, who watched Harima's expression turned sour, of course, understood what's going on, but she decided it would be best to stay quiet.

…

"What's going on? Why are you so late?" Tenma asked with a cheerful voice. Her mood appeared to improve very substantially now that Karasuma-kun appeared. "It was eight thirty, right?"

"I am sorry." Karasuma answered with his usual, emotionless, flat tone. "I got stuck at a traffic jam."

Hah! Such a classic and outdated reason to be late! Harima said scornfully in his mind. Can't you think of a more sophisticated reason to be late?

……Though, he's not sure whether the guy was lying or not, since that flat expression of his is so darn difficult to read……

…

"I thought so." Tenma nodded her head. "But anyway, since we're all here, let us make way to the new currr------rry restaurant!"

It seemed that amongst those four, only Tenma whose spirit roared high. Harima felt uncomfortable with the sight of Tenma and Karasuma together; Yakumo felt uneasy about forcing Harima-san going to a double-date he most probably didn't want to do on the first place; and Karasuma…

Well…, Karasuma was just like the usual Karasuma—nobody could tell from his face whether he's excited or not…

…

"Ah, before that!" Tenma clapped her hands. She walked to Yakumo, turned to the guys, and said, "Excuse me, before we go, I have something to discuss with Yakumo, so would the two of you please wait here for a moment?"

Harima said, "Sure…" and Karasuma just nodded.

So, Tenma dragged Yakumo a few distance away from the guys.

…

"Hello." Harima said to Karasuma by the time the girls already sufficiently far, glaring at him.

"Hi." Karasuma answered, oblivious to Harima's glare.

…

"What's wrong, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked her sister, though she had a vague idea of what this is all about. "What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

"Yakumo, remember what I said back at home, okay?" Tenma said seriously. "I want to use this chance to learn about how I should date properly with Karasuma-kun later. So don't be ashamed having me and Karasuma-kun around—just do whatever it is that you both usually did when you and Harima-kun went for dates."

"Nee-san, I…" Yakumo did not know why she bothered again and again trying to explain to her sister the truth behind her relationship with Harima, since her sister wouldn't listen anyway, just like now,

"D---ont be ashamed, okay!" Tenma said earnestly. "If you…erm…, wanted to kiss or anything like that, just do it! Harima-kun is a nice person, so I wouldn't mind if the boy you kiss is him… alright? Help your Nee-san to learn a thing or two about love, 'kay?"

Yakumo did not say anything, but she nodded weakly. She couldn't find a way later to explain this properly to Harima-san. Explaining that due to some sort of misunderstanding, now her sister wanted both she and Harima-san to become some sort of love mentor for her sister.

Not without hurting Harima-san's feelings in some way… and obviously changing her sister's mind now is out of the question…

…

"Good!" Tenma said cheerfully. "Let's go back to the boys then!"

They both came back to the boys, where Harima was still glaring at Karasuma but Karasuma, as always, was spacing out like there was something interesting at the clouds above that only he could see.

"Right!" Tenma said. "We're done! Let's go!"

Both Harima and Karasuma nodded, and off they go.

* * *

**8.50 AM, Sunday. The Road to the New Curry Restaurant.**

…

……

"And, the guitar you're playing with at Bunkasai is…"

Tenma, Yakumo, Harima, and Karasuma were all now walking to the new curry restaurant Tenma was talking about. Apparently, the place was close enough from their school so they did not have to take any train or anything to go there.

Tenma talked with Karasuma cheerfully about his guitar or something, while Harima stared gloomily at them from behind (him and Yakumo walked behind Tenma and Karasuma.)

Yakumo felt uneasy about this situation. Walking together with someone clouded with gloomy mood wasn't an enjoyable experience, no doubt; even more so when that person was not talking at all.

_This won't do_, she said to herself. _I'd better talk with Harima-san about something_.

…

But what to talk about?

The only thing that she could think of that connected both of them in some way—besides her sister, of course—was the manga. Yeah, maybe she could talk about the manga.

…

"Um…, Harima-san?" Yakumo said softly.

"Hm? Oh, yeah?" Harima seemed surprised when Yakumo addressed him. He was too busy staring at Tenma and Karasuma's back that for a while he forgot someone was walking beside him.

…

"Have you… been working on any new manga, yet?" Yakumo asked.

Harima stared at Yakumo for a while.

…

…Manga, eh?

…

Well, this might be a good time to speak about manga with Imouto-san… since he didn't have to watch Tenma and Karasuma, even if it's only for a short while. After all, besides Tenma, manga is one of his greater passions in life. Talking about manga might cheer him up a bit.

Yup.

…

"Yeah." Harima said confidently. "And it went quite well, too."

"That's great." Yakumo smiled; she felt relieved that her plan—at least for now—worked. The gloomy mood surrounding Harima-san before was gone. "And what's the manga about? …Are you continuing the tale of the Princess and the Knight you showed me back then before the play?"

"Nah." Harima shook his head. "I think after one hundred pages or so, I've ran out of ideas for that one. I mean, after the Knight saved the Princess, the only thing that I could think of if I wanted to continue the story was the Knight somehow got cursed and it's now the Princess' turn to save him."

Yakumo smiled again.

"That doesn't seem like a bad idea." she said. "I mean, it's quite a twist, don't you think so?"

"Yeah, at first I thought of that." Harima waved his hand. "But then again, the readers might probably not. When you think of it, although the role is reversed, the story is pretty much the same—the setting, the idea, etc, etc. One of the golden rules of the manga world is never to give a same story back to the readers over and over again. It will bore them easily."

Yakumo did not know whether such golden rule existed or not, but she nodded all the same. Besides, it seemed to be quite logical.

"So, what's the new manga all about?" Yakumo asked again.

"Oh, did you know the show called The Three Who Were Slashed?" Harima said. "You know, the famous TV show about the greatest three samurai ever lived?"

"Yes." Yakumo answered. "The show is quite popular."

"I am inspired by it." Harima said energetically. "Well, if you are an artist of some sort, you couldn't possibly NOT be inspired after watching such a great show; particularly last night. Three hours of unrivalled greatness!"

"Oh…" Yakumo replied quietly.

…

It seemed funny, somehow, to see that her Nee-san and Harima-san could share the exact same enthusiasm about an exact same thing. After all, her Nee-san was always this enthusiastic every time she talked about The Three Who Were Slashed. She couldn't imagine how lively it would be should her Nee-san and Harima-san were to talk together about the show.

…

"Yes, that show is very good."

"Indeed!" Harima nodded approvingly.

"So, your new manga is about samurai?" Yakumo enquired.

"That's the basic idea." he answered serenely. "My manga tells the story about a Ronin samurai who wandered around ancient Japan, helping innocents from the threat of evil-doers with his undefeated ancient style of sword-fighting. Sounds exciting, yeah?"

"Um… y…yes." Yakumo answered, trying her best so that Harima wouldn't be able to figure out that actually for her, that kind of story actually was not something that she would call 'exciting'. "…It sounds interesting."

"Ah, but then I realized that, a story like that has been overused already in many other mangas and animes." Harima continued. "So, I've added a little bit of twist here and there, to make my story unique and different; standing out."

"Oh?" Yakumo replied. This conversation really worked—Harima-san seemed to cheer up quite considerably…, that's good, she thought. "What kind of twist?"

"It's his sword!" Harima exclaimed excitedly. "The sword the samurai wielded is a cursed sword!"

"So, he got cursed?" Yakumo asked.

"Naturally!" Harima answered.

"What kind of curse?" Yakumo continued asking.

"Ou, are you ready to hear this?" Harima said, trembling with excitement as if he was about to reveal a very huge government secret or something like that to Yakumo, "Every time the samurai sees someone directly with his eyes, that someone will be transformed into stone!"

…

For a moment, Yakumo couldn't gather her thoughts about what she should say in response to that kind of twist.

…

"I…I see." she finally said. "That is…, quite an… interesting… curse."

"It is, isn't it?" Harima continued, "That is why, the samurai protagonist wore a special sunglasses forged by a magical blacksmith so that the curse wouldn't take any effect every time he stared at someone—because by wearing a sunglasses technically he won't be staring _directly_, you understand?"

"Um… yes." Yakumo answered, not bothering herself to tell Harima that a samurai in ancient Japan wearing sunglasses might be a little off and inaccurate. "But, at some point of the story the curse should be broken, I presume?"

"Of course!" Harima answered boldly. "That is actually the central of the story; the journey of the hero protagonist to search the land of a way to defeat the curse, when while doing it he also wiped clean all of the evils he encountered."

"So…" Yakumo continued to ask, "How can the hero defeat the curse?"

"Ah." Harima said. "That's actually a surprise, but since it's you, Imouto-san, I guess it's alright to tell you. The only way for the hero to break the curse is to stare directly to the eyes of a woman who is genuinely in love with him!"

"Oh." Yakumo replied quietly. That was no surprise, actually. In fact, the story did resemble the reversed-role of Princess-Knight tale they just talked about before, only in a different setting—of course, Yakumo wouldn't bother to tell Harima-san that.

"I see."

"So what do you think?" Harima asked cheerfully. Talking about his manga really managed to liven up his mood. "Do you think I should add more meat to the story or anything like that? Do you think another twist should be added? Or perhaps you have your own idea about interesting new curses for the hero?"

"Well…" Yakumo said slowly. Curses were something beyond her range of knowledge, obviously, but just for the sake of this conversation only, maybe she could think of something else.

…

……

"…Wouldn't it be better if the samurai had a companion he's travelling together with?" Yakumo finally said.

"A companion?" Harima said.

He took a small notebook and a small pencil from his pocket. He wrote, under the tab '_New Ideas_' in the first page of that notebook, '_a companion for the hero_'.

…

"Ah, this is my personal manga notebook." he quickly explained because Yakumo stared at the notebook questioningly. "I've always brought this with me, because you never know when new ideas might sneak their way up to your mind, right? Should they show up, I use this notebook to write them up."

"Oh… I see…" Yakumo nodded.

…

_Harima-san is really serious about his manga_, _isn't he_?

…

"So, about this companion…" Harima continued. "What kind of person will it be?"

"Um…" This conversation has turned into some sort of manga discussion session or something, but she didn't mind because it took some of Harima-san's attention away from her Nee-san and Karasuma-sempai. "Perhaps… to make it more interesting, a…… female?"

"A female, you say?" Harima said with one of his eyebrows raised.

For a moment, he seemed to contemplate Yakumo's suggestion.

"Interesting." he said finally. He wrote '_female_' under '_a companion for the hero_'. "So, what kind of person do you imagine this woman's going to be?"

"Um…" Yakumo mumbled quietly. Judging from Harima's continuous questions, one would think that the one making the manga was not Harima but Yakumo. But she didn't mind. In fact, she's now thinking quite seriously about this matter.

…

"I imagine the woman is a bit skilled in martial arts too." Harima twiddled his pencil on his hand, staring at the notebook. "Otherwise, she might be a burden for the hero to bring along while he's doing the job banishing evil."

"That will be good…" Yakumo replied. "I think it will be a lot more interesting if…, if the woman is able to stand up for herself in a time of need…"

Harima wrote '_skilled in martial arts_'.

"But if she's a samurai too things would become too generic." Harima added. "If the two heroes are samurai, I would probably run out of ideas for their sword skills before my manga is finished."

He turned to Yakumo.

"Any idea of what specialization this woman will have?" he said.

Yakumo thought for a moment.

……

………

"H…how about a _witch_?" she blurted out the first thing she could think of. For some strange reason, the image of her wearing witch costume during the _Bunkasai_ came out all of the sudden.

"A _witch_?" Harima exclaimed. He did not seem to expect this kind of answer. "……Well, it's definitely unique…, but why a _witch_?"

"Um…." Yakumo said; her brain working furiously searching for a proper reasoning, her eyes staring focusedly at the road. "…That's because the samurai is cursed, right? T…that's why he needs someone who is knowledgeable about curses to help him handle the side-effects of the curse during his search for the cure… Otherwise the curse might make the hero out of control or something, doing things he wouldn't do on normal conditions… "

…

Yakumo stopped for a moment.

"…Um…, something like that." she said.

…

Even according to herself her words seemed weird. Before, she thought that the idea of a samurai wearing sunglasses during the Edo period was weird, but now instead of a samurai she's suggesting a _witch_ prancing around ancient Japan fighting evils casting magical spells. It was definitely weirder.

She nervously peeked at Harima, to see his reaction regarding her silly idea.

…

Unexpectedly, though, it seemed like Harima was impressed by her idea.

He patted Yakumo's left shoulder with his free hand with such force all of the sudden, it made her jump a bit.

…

"That's an _impressive_ suggestion!" Harima said excitedly. "I would have never thought that kind of idea before! Imouto-san, your idea is definitely one of a kind!"

"…Y…you think so?" Yakumo said awkwardly.

"Yeah!" Harima continued. "You _really_ do have a talent for this kind of thing. What an incredible imagination!"

Yakumo felt that Harima's praises for her were entirely misplaced and unnecessary, but nevertheless she muttered a polite, "Thank you." as a reply.

"Then… what about…" Harima added while he's busy scribbling down notes after notes onto his notebook.

The two of them were so deep in conversation; they didn't notice that Tenma was watching both of them from the front.

…

"_Look at them_, _chatting all happily like that_." she said to herself. "_I_'_ve never thought that I would ever see the day when Yakumo could be that open to a man_, _but I am happy now that she is_."

She changed her view from Harima-Yakumo back to Karasuma. The guy's face was still as expressionless as ever.

…

"_I wish Karasuma-kun could talk a bit more_." she continued.

She smiled.

"_But I still like him no matter what_."

* * *

**To Be Continued**


	2. Rumble 2

**SCHOOL RUMBLE: TWIST, TWIST, & TURN**

**By: Pizza Blade**

**PART TWO**

* * *

**09.10 AM. Sunday. The New Curry Restaurant**.

…

……

"So, this is the place!" Tenma exclaimed happily, as the four of them were standing in front of a restaurant. The place was unassuming, really, and it's quite small for a restaurant. It's exactly the kind of place that you wouldn't notice except when you really pay attention to your surroundings.

…

Yakumo stared at a quite big note plastered on the restaurant's glass window.

"BIG SALE!" the note said. "50 PERCENT DISCOUNT ON ALL CURRY AND DRINKS TO OUR 10 FIRST CUSTOMERS! ONLY ON THE CURRY PALACE!"

Yakumo didn't quite feel that a term like "BIG SALE" was appropriate for a restaurant (it felt like a lot more appropriate for a clothing store), but she didn't say anything.

But then again, aside from the plastered sign, there was no other mark that people could use to indicate that the place was a curry restaurant. Why didn't they erect a sign or something? Even the name of the place was nowhere to be found except on the big note plastered on the glass window.

Yakumo peeked at Harima.

The man with the sunglasses also stared at the big note, looking quite interested.

_I guess_ _Harima_-_san likes curry too_.

…

Anyway, to be honest, Yakumo was quite surprised that Harima-san managed to keep a relatively positive mood with him, even with the fact that in front of them her Nee-san clung to Karasuma-san like a baby to a candy. Perhaps their talk about manga really did able to lift those negative moods he had at the first of this double-date. Or maybe Harima-san decided that it would be unbecoming for him to act all moody in front of her Nee-san. After all, he did accept this invitation…

Or maybe Harima-san just couldn't afford to disturb Nee-san's while she's being all cheerful and happy right now, even though he did it at the cost of his own feelings…

…

…Quite admirable, really…

…

"_I just can't sulk every time_!" Harima's determination roared fiercely within his heart, fuelled even further by the sight of his rival who did not have to do anything yet Tenma-chan clung all over him. "_True men does not sulk_, _he stands up and fight_!"

…

Karasuma, along with Tenma, entered the curry restaurant, with Yakumo and Harima followed suit.

"Welcome! Welcome!" a man behind the counter welcomed them with an enthusiastic yell. "Welcome to our first, second, third, and fourth customers! Please, take your seat and enjoy yourself!"

_So_, Yakumo thought, _we really are the first customers for this new restaurant_.

She quickly scanned the entire room: it was quite small, but relatively comfortable. The atmosphere was okay. This place was quite nice, actually; maybe the reason why this place's still empty was because people just did not know about it yet—which then make the non-existent sign outside to be even more baffling.

…

"Where are we going to sit?" Tenma asked as her eyes screening the entire room, looking for the most comfortable location.

Karasuma raised his finger, and pointed at the table located at the far corner of the restaurant, exactly at the side of the glass window.

"There." he said.

"Oh, all right." Tenma replied cheerfully.

…

As the four of them walked to the table Karasuma pointed, a new gentlemanly-scheme popped inside Harima's head.

_Wait_! he thought, seemingly shocked at this new revelation he had in mind. _In all of those movies and such, didn't the gentleman always pull the chair for the ladies before they sit_?_ That's right_!_ This is my chance to show Tenma-chan of my gentlemanliness_!

…

**PLAN ONE: PULLING OUT CHAIR FOR TENMA-CHAN**

Harima rushed himself to table before the rest of the crew arrived.

"Harima-kun, what are you doing?" Tenma asked, surprised because of this sudden act.

Harima stood besides one of the chair, and smiled with what he thought as how a gentleman should smile. He pulled the chair, and bowed himself to the other three.

"Have a seat, please." he said elegantly. "Walking yourself from the school to the restaurant must be tiring. It is not good for your health to keep standing while your leg is tired after all of those hard works. Please, have a seat."

Tenma stared at Harima with blank look, seemingly unable to decipher the meaning behind those sophisticated words Harima just said. Yakumo, of course, understood, but she just kept quiet.

While Karasuma…

…

"Thank you." he said as he sat on the chair Harima just pulled.

…

……

For a moment, both Harima and Yakumo just stood silent for this—rather unexpected—event development.

…

Yakumo seemed unable to decide what kind of expression she should use on her face, while Harima was too baffled to even say anything.

…

After a while, though, he recovered from his shock, and quickly moved himself to the side of where Karasuma sat, towering and glaring at him.

"Oy, Turtle-head!" he said, with a rather murderous tone. "This seat is for Tenm…"

"Oh, WOW! That's so great, Harima-kun!" suddenly Tenma exclaimed, effectively halting Harima's attempt to continue his threat to Karasuma. She quickly rushed to where Harima was standing, and stared him directly to the face.

"I never knew that you and Karasuma-kun are such good friends with each other!" she said happily, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she misunderstood the whole ordeal, "You even pull the chair for Karasuma-kun to sit on! I bet you think that after that traffic jam and walking to this restaurant, Karasuma-kun's legs must be really tired!"

"…" was Harima's only reply to Tenma's assessment.

"But you know what; you know what, Harima-kun." Tenma peered at Yakumo while patting Harima's shoulder, "I am glad to know that you and Karasuma-kun are good buddies, but you should put your girlfriend as your first priority on dates like this, you know. You should pull out a chair for Yakumo too."

After she said this, Tenma moved to sit on the chair besides Karasuma, and quickly after that, busy scanning the menu along with Karasuma.

…

"U…uh…" Harima stammered, paralyzed because of the way his plan was unfolding.

_Damn it_! he said to himself in his thought. _My plan to be a gentleman this time failed_!_ I should have mentioned Tenma-chan's name when I pulled out that chair_!_ Argh_!_ Why do I always have such bad luck on this sort of things anyway_?

He quickly recovered from his (second) state of shock, and immediately pulling out one of the other chairs.

…

"Imouto-san." he said, trying to keep his voice even and polite and as gentlemanly as possible. "Please, do have a seat."

"…Thank you..." Yakumo answered. As she sat on the chair Harima just pulled, she stared at her sister who is now still busy scanning the menu.

…

_Nee-san just misunderstood Harima-san's intentions_…, she said to herself. She peeked at Harima's glum expression as he sat besides her. _And now Harima-san back with his gloom mood again_…

…

"So, Karasuma-kun, what would you like to order?" Tenma said, as one of the restaurant's waitress approached, carrying with her a small notebook and a pen, clearly with the intentions of writing up their orders.

"Hmm…" Karasuma mumbled. Judging from the serious look on his face—well, it's just that his face was always so serious it's difficult to differentiate whether he's serious or not—he seemed to have a little difficulty selecting his order.

"What about you, Yakumo, what will you order?" Tenma decided to let Karasuma alone for a while to decide his order, and now she turned to Yakumo.

"I will have anything you have, Nee-san." Yakumo answered. She did not even peek at the menu, because originally she didn't have any intentions on visiting this restaurant anyway. "Anything will do."

"Okay, then." Tenma cast another quick look at the menu and found the food she wanted to order. "Miss, I'll be having this one, please." She pointed out the food she wanted at the menu for the waitress to see. "Make it two, for me and my little sister."

"Excellent, miss." the waitress nodded in approval. "What about the drinks?"

"I'll be having this." Tenma pointed her finger again at the menu. "Make it two, also, okay?"

The waitress nodded again as she scribbled down Tenma's orders at her notebook. Then, she stared at Harima and Karasuma, both of them still busy staring at the menu.

"What about the gentlemen?" the waitress asked politely.

"Ahhh…" Harima said. Truth be told, he was in a bit of fix with money this time of month, so he decided for now to order the cheapest food on the menu. At least it's still curry. "I'll be having…"

"Excuse me." Karasuma all of the sudden interjected. He stared straight at the waitress. "If I may ask, what is the spiciest curry on this restaurant?"

"Spiciest curry, sir?" one of the waitress' eyebrows raised. "That…, that, that would be our special; Red Hot Ultra Spicy Curry Special, sir. I'll give you my word that no other curry in Japan can even come close to the spiciness of our special, sir."

"Then I'll be having that." Karasuma finally decided, closing his menu. "As for the drink, I'll be having an Orange Juice."

"A…are you _sure_, sir?" the waitress seemed hesitating, for reasons unclear. "I mean, aside from our special, we also have a lot of other high quality, delicious…"

"No." Karasuma said flatly. "I want the Special. I like spicy curry."

"A…alright then, sir." the waitress scribbled down Karasuma's orders.

"Wow, Karasuma-kun! Are you really going to eat the spiciest curry on Japan?" Tenma's voice bridled with excitement. "That's great! I know I won't be able to eat food as spicy as that, but I really admire those who can eat even the spiciest food!"

Harima's radar of What-Tenma-Likes suddenly activated. He quickly scanned the menu to find the Red Hot Ultra Spicy Curry Special, and found it at the very bottom of the second page.

…

"_Damn it_!" he said angrily in his thought. "_It_'_s very expensive_!"

He peeked at Karasuma, who's now staring blankly through the glass window, as if something really interesting is currently happening out there. Maybe he chose this location just so that he could stare out through the windows like that, just like he used to be in the class. What a weird hobby.

…

"_Gah_!_ So what if it_'_s expensive_!" Harima's inside burning with determination upon seeing Karasuma's face. "_I will show Tenma-chan that I too can eat the spiciest curry in Japan! Besides, now it's 50 percent discount anyways_!"

"Uh…" Harima spoke to the waitress. "I'll be having the same; Red Hot Ultra Spicy Curry Special. The drink shall be Orange Juice as well." _And how come he ordered my most favourite drink?_

"Uh… another Special? …All right, sir." the waitress said hesitantly. She scribbled down Harima's orders. "Please wait for a moment, your foods and drinks shall be delivered to you in a short while." She bowed, and left to the kitchen to deliver the notes.

…

"Wow, Harima-kun!" Tenma said happily as the waitress went off. "You and Karasuma-kun _really_ are good friends, aren't you? You even order the same food as him!"

"Y…yeah." Harima said rather awkwardly. Karasuma did not say anything on Tenma's assessment that he and Harima was best friend; he just kept staring blankly through the glass window.

Yakumo stared at her sister, at Karasuma, then at Harima.

…

……

_This will be a long day_…, she thought to herself helplessly.

* * *

**09.25 AM. Sunday. The New Curry Restaurant**.

…

……

10 minutes later and their orders have not arrived yet. Tenma decided that during the wait, it was the perfect time to…, well…, strengthen their bond or something…

…

"So, Karasuma-kun here and the rest of the band really practiced hard for their show at Bunkasai." Tenma said happily. "And what do you think of their performance? Really great, eh?"

"Yes." Yakumo said, smiling. It was always a great joy for her to watch her sister in a very happy mood like this time, even with Harima constantly glaring towards Karasuma next to her. "The performance was magnificent."

"You and Eri-chan's dance was quite good too!" Tenma pointed out to Yakumo. "In fact, I didn't know before that you could dance that well, Yakumo."

"…It's nothing, Nee-san." Yakumo replied modestly.

…

She peeked at Karasuma, who's still staring out through the glass window. She wondered what kind of conversation he usually had with her sister during their previous dates. She bet that it was her sister who did all the talking.

…

"And speaking of band performance, I didn't see you around back then, Harima-kun." Tenma turned her attention to Harima, who quickly averted his glare, "Where were you?"

"I…uh…" Harima answered. "I was at the classroom, cleaning some stuff…"

Of course, he couldn't tell Tenma that during the dance, he was being tied up at the ceiling by that ruthless Takano, a punishment for him ruining 2-C's theatrical play. Well, he couldn't really complain because it WAS his fault, but being tied up at the ceiling definitely was not something cool to brag about, and if Tenma didn't know, it's all for the better.

…

"Really?" Tenma said. "I've been wondering why you're not dancing with Yakumo back then. I mean, both of you are a couple yet you're not dancing together…"

"I…I must quickly returned the witch's clothing to my friend after my dance with Sawachika-sempai." Yakumo said hastily—this conversation would most definitely venture into a dangerous territory if she didn't change it quickly. "I really haven't had the time to dance more that night…"

Harima must have thought that this conversation would quickly steer into an unwanted territory too, because like Yakumo, his response was also fast.

"But Yoshidayama said the song the band sung really great." Harima said quickly. "He said that everyone was amazed at that girl called Ichijou's singing voice—almost like an angel, they said."

"Well, yes." Tenma nodded approvingly. "Her voice was really enchanting back then. Even Eri-chan said that she was impressed by Karerin's performance."

For no apparent reason whatsoever, Tenma suddenly blushed.

…

"…But the best performance back then was the guitar…" she said shyly.

"Yes!" Harima quickly said, glad that Tenma's topic of conversation was not about why him and Yakumo didn't dance together again, "I heard from Yoshidayama that the guitar play was extraordinary!"

"…played by Karasuma-kun." Tenma finished her sentence, her face was all red.

"Yes! Played by…" Harima stopped mid-sentence, all too late to realize his mistake.

…

_Damn it_!_ Why the hell am I doing praising the weird guy_!_ How could I forget that it was HIM who played the guitar back then_!

Yakumo stared at the befuddled face of Harima, then to Tenma, then to Karasuma. She didn't say anything afterwards, though.

…

"Ah, uh…" Harima said. _I couldn_'_t let this conversation hanging out around the band performance any more_,_ so that Tenma-chan wouldn_'_t have another chance to praise that guy_!

"But our play was really successful, yeah? I mean, all of our hard efforts really paid off there!"

As he remembered, the Turtle-head guy wasn't participating at all at the play, so he figured by talking about the play Tenma wouldn't be able to find anything that could be used to be praise him.

"I mean, really!" Harima continued to talk. "Even the other class is still speaking about it after the Bunkasai ended!"

"Well, yeah, everyone worked hard for it." Tenma said, nodding her head approvingly. "After all, Akira-chan, Eri-chan, and everyone else really put all of their heart into it. Of course the play was successful, I couldn't imagine otherwise."

"Right!" Harima exclaimed approvingly.

"But… but…" Tenma said, in a suddenly teasing and playful tone, "It was rather a surprise, really…"

Yakumo suddenly felt something bad is about to happen, because right at this moment she could see words like 'KAWAII COUPLE' and 'HEHEHEH' and 'I'LL TEASE THEM', among all others, spinning around her sister's head.

"What is a surprise?" Harima asked, apparently unaware that his decision to change the topic of conversation from the band performance to the play in the end might do him more harm than good.

"Well…" Tenma said, still in that teasing tone of speaking, "I was actually quite surprised to see you at the princess' bed, Harima-kun. I mean, it was rather unexpected, to say the least!"

"Well, that…, uh…" Harima said awkwardly. Of course, it was his own fault that he fell asleep at one of the play's set, the most important one, even! But, admitting his fault at this moment did not appear to be a good idea—he wouldn't want to lose point in front of Tenma, and more importantly, not in front of the weird guy (_and why he's still staring out through the window like that_?)

"When I asked Akira-chan about it, she said that she had it planned all along, but she kept it as a secret so that it would be a surprise for everyone." Tenma explained.

"She said that?" Harima said, surprised.

Yakumo was gazing at her sister.

_Takano-sempai really did that_? she said to herself.

_Well_,_ Takano-sempai really is an unexpected person,_ _although in a different kind of way from Nee-san_…

But she wondered whether it's true or not.

Harima, though, felt kind of relieved. _I'd better thank that girl later for this_. At least, he was not losing points in front of Tenma from screwing up the theatrical play they were all worked so hard for.

"Yeah." Tenma continued. "What she DIDN'T plan, though, is for Yakumo all of the sudden showing up from the bed like that."

Yakumo's face immediately went all red hearing what her sister just said.

…

…Although, now that she think about it, it was rather peculiar for her not to feel ashamed having to share a bed with a man, even though it was undoubtedly an emergency situation.

…

But having her sister mentioning this all of the sudden—although she was kind of expecting it—was truly, truly, embarrassing.

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said, trying to get a hold on this conversation before everything got worse, "It was an accide…"

"But of course!" Tenma clapped her hands, her face was all on I'll-tease-them-hahaha mode. "No doubt that inside Akira-chan's plan to surprise everybody, both of you had a plan on your own, right?"

"W…what?" Harima was again, befuddled at the way this conversation evolved.

"Yeah, yeah." Tenma continued to speak—it was as if for the moment she totally forgot about they were all having double-dates. Her mind was all focused on teasing Yakumo and Harima right now. "I bet both of you wanted to announce to the whole school that both of you are a couple, right? Having planned for Yakumo sneaking up on the bed like that, so that she could be the witch… sn-----eakyyy…"

"Wait, Tsukamoto, that's not…"

"Nee-san, that's not…"

Even Harima and Yakumo's combined efforts were not a match for Tenma's ultimate thick-headedness, since in her mind both of them acting all weird like that was in due to her accurate guesses of 'their secret plan'.

"D----ont deny it, don't deny it!" Tenma shook her head in one-two motion. "I bet the two of you had all already planned for the witch to finally kiss the princess, so that you could use the play as a mean to announce to the entire school of both of you being a couple. Totally sn-----eakkky…"

Yakumo continued to struggle helplessly against Tenma's accusations, while Harima was currently at a loss for words.

_Why did my plan always backfire_? Harima thought helplessly. _And why the hell does the weird guy keep looking out through the window_? because Karasuma's still staring out through the window, his face totally unchanged even though there was a lively (well, only Tenma was lively) conversation happening right next to him.

"But it seems like not everyone in the school realized about both of you going out!" Tenma continued her non-stop talk, completely oblivious to Yakumo's attempt to stop her and to the awkward reactions from Harima. "You too should hanging out together more in the open! Make a bolder announcement of your relationship!"

"Nee-san……" Yakumo said helplessly, while Harima was looking around desperately, searching for something that might be a good source for idea of a new conversation topic. When he spotted the previous waitress approaching their table, apparently carrying their orders, his heart leapt with joy.

"OH MY!" he said quite loudly, effectively stopping Tenma's continuous babble. "It seemed that our orders have finally arrived! MY OH MY! It looks deeeeliiciousss!"

Never before in his life was he that glad seeing a waitress carrying food.

"Oh, right." Tenma looked at the waitress. "Karasuma-kun, our orders have arrived."

For the first moment after ordering their food, Karasuma moved his eyes away from the window and stared at the waitress—well, actually, at the food the waitress was carrying. His eyes seemed focused.

Yakumo felt glad too, that at least for a moment, her sister would stop talking about the misunderstandings about her relationship with Harima.

"We are terribly sorry if you waited too long." said the waitress in a very polite voice, putting down the orders on the table one by one. "Our current chef is still an apprentice, but I can assure you that his cooking is…, um, magnificent."

"No problem, no problem." Tenma replied with both her pigtails wriggling up and down. She stared intently at two plates of very red curry the waitress just put on the table. "Are these the Special Spicy Curry?" she pointed her finger at the plates.

"Y…yes." the waitress replied, somewhat nervously.

After she finished putting out all of the orders (in quite a professional manner, Yakumo thought), the waitress bowed and said, "Please, enjoy yourself."

"Thank you!" Tenma said energetically, while Yakumo said the same thing only in a much, much, less loud voice than her sister.

…

……

_Well_, Yakumo thought to herself as she stared at her food. _At the very least it looks good_.

"I---tadakimaaasu!" Tenma clapped her hands, but as she's going to start eating, something took her attention—and Yakumo's too.

…

……

"Harima-san, what's the matter?" Yakumo asked Harima, because at the moment instead of start eating, Harima stared intently at his share of food. "Is something the matter?"

Tenma also noticed that Karasuma was doing the same thing—instead of eating the curry he ordered; he stared at them intently, as if he was scrutinizing it.

"Karasuma-kun, what's the matter?" Tenma asked to Karasuma. "Is there something wrong with the curry? Would you like to change your order?"

…

_Something wrong_? Harima thought to himself as he continuingly stared at his food. _Yeah, something is definitely wrong here_……_ I mean_,_ the curry looks alright,_ _like your typical curry everywhere else_……

But something in his guts told him that the thing being served in front of him right now was no ordinary typical curry. If the curry was typical, they wouldn't dare to call it the spiciest curry in the whole Japan.

…

……_Is it really THAT spicy_?

Because he was bound to be sweating after eating an extra-spicy food; and sweating in front of Tenma-chan like that was definitely a no-no on the Harima's Gentleman Code Book.

He peeked at Karasuma, and noticed that Karasuma, just like him, still observing the curry, with the confused Tenma staring at him.

…

_That guy is weird, but it seems that he is pretty knowledgeable about curry_, Harima thought. _He too, must notice that this curry is not ordinary_……

…

"Nothing is wrong." Karasuma answered Tenma's question. "Sometimes, I just like to observe my curry before I eat it, to see whether it's going to be good or not."

"I see…" Tenma nodded. "Well, is it good?"

"It appears to…" Karasuma said quietly.

He picked his spoon and started eating his curry, with Harima quietly observing him.

…

-Eat-

-Eat-

-Eat-

…

_It seems there's nothing wrong with the curry,_ Harima thought as he saw Karasuma's ate continuously without showing any sign of oddness (well, except the fact that his face IS odd). _It seems that the title the spiciest curry is just a bluff to impress the customers_…

…

"Amazing!" Tenma said with excitement as she looked on Karasuma. "You can eat the spiciest curry in Japan without even a pause!"

Harima gazed at Karasuma, then at Tenma.

_Well_,_ good_, he continued, _that means I don't have to be sweating in front of Tenma-chan_!_ Then I_'_ll show Tenma-chan that as a gentleman_,_ I can eat a LOT more curry than the weird guy_!

Perhaps only in Harima's Gentleman Code Book that eating lots of curry could be considered an act of being a gentleman…, but never mind that.

**PLAN TWO: EATS MORE CURRY THAN THE WEIRD GUY**

"Harima-san?" Yakumo continued to ask Harima, because right now Harima gazed at the curry as if he wanted to pick a fight with it or something. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, nothing! Nothing Imouto-san! Nothing!" Harima replied quickly. "I am just looking at my curry to appreciate how beautiful of an art this curry is!"

"Art?" Yakumo said, a bit confused by that statement.

She didn't understand how a curry could be considered an art, but then again Harima is a manga artist—maybe artist could see art when ordinary people couldn't.

"Alright!" Harima picked a spoon and shove it under his curry. "Itadakimasu!"

Then he pushed the spoon into his mouth.

…

……

Both Tenma and Yakumo ate their food on casual speed, deliberately savouring every moment the curry swirled inside their mouth and slipped to their stomach. They seemed to be enjoying their food.

"This is good." Tenma said appreciatively while pushing another spoon of curry to her mouth. "Right, Yakumo? The chef is really good, just like you."

"He's definitely better, Nee-san." Yakumo answered honestly. Truly, although she was a quite capable at cooking, making a curry this delicious was probably something out of her cooking ability range.

"I don't think so; in fact I think your home-made curry tastes better." Tenma said defiantly, making Yakumo smiled. Then she looked at Karasuma. "Is it delicious, Karasuma-kun?"

Karasuma just nodded slowly, although by looking at this face, you couldn't really tell whether he's enjoying it or not. He continued to eat his share of food without any complaints, though, so it's probably safe to say that he did enjoy it.

"That's good." Tenma said.

Yakumo ate another spoon of her curry, before she stared at Harima, wondering why Harima just kept quiet and did not say anything at all after his first spoon of curry.

"Harima-san, does your curry…"

Yakumo stopped mid-sentence.

When Tenma looked at Harima, she was surprised at what she saw.

"Harima-kun!" she exclaimed. "Why are you crying like that?"

…

It was true.

Harima was crying now. From behind his sunglasses, continuous stream of tears flowed down from both of his eyes. All of his face was all read, and tiny puffs of smoke coming out from both his ears. Sweats also poured down from his entire face. And if you looked carefully, many parts of his hair stood up as if he's being shocked by electricity or something.

"H…Harima-san? Are you alright?" Yakumo asked nervously. Of course, someone showing those kinds of symptoms couldn't possibly be alright. The sight definitely wasn't pretty.

"Harima-kun?" Tenma asked again.

…

"I… I… I… I am alright…" Harima said quickly—when he opened his mouth, tiny puffs of smoke coming out from it; it was like a magic trick, quite awesome. "T…t…there's n… n…nothing… wrong w…with me…"

Of course, his explanation wasn't really believable seeing that he said it while he's still crying and his face was all red like that.

"I… I…" He continued to stammer, "I… am… just…… moved… b…by… the…taste… of…t…the…c…curry…"

Yakumo didn't find the explanation to be satisfactory, as she continued to stare worriedly at Harima—but Tenma seemed to believe him.

"Amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly, her hair antennas flipping up and down. "I didn't know that a person could enjoy their food that much so that he could cry like you, Harima-kun!"

"Y…yeah…"

…

**HOOOLLLY HELLLL THIS CURRY IS SOOOO SPICCCCYYY!**

...was the yell Harima screamed throughout his lungs inside.

**OOH MY GOOOOD WHAT DID THEY PUT INSIDE THIS CURRY? MOUNT FUJI'S LAVA OR SOMETHING? OH MY GODDDDDD!**

"Are you sure you're alright?" Yakumo continued to ask worriedly. "You don't look okay."

"I…It's nothing…" Harima replied quickly. **NO I AM NOT ALRIGHT! THIS CURRY IS HOTTER THAN HELL! **"I…I am alright…"

He quickly grabbed his Orange Juice and drank it all to the bottom at the first gulp.

The coolness of the Orange Juice sapped the hotness of the curry from his throat only a little, but at least he could breathe rather normally now.

…

_God damn_! Harima thought to himself as he stared at his now one-less-spoon curry. _Only the first time and it's already this hot_!_ They really weren_'_t joking when they called it The Spiciest Curry in Japan_!

He gazed at Karasuma.

_And how it is possible for him to eat it without pausing like that_? Because Karasuma's still eating his share of ultra-spicy curry casually; his face didn't even twitch, there's no sign of him sweating, and there was absolutely no sign whatsoever that he didn't enjoy the food he's eating.

…

_His tongue must be made of iron or something_! Harima stared disbelievingly at Karasuma. _I can_'_t believe he can eat this kind of food without even twitching his face like that_!

"Eh? Yakumo, you are not eating your food." Tenma pointed out.

"Ah… oh?" Yakumo suddenly realized that she didn't touch her food anymore because she was busy staring at Harima's bewildered expression. "Right… sorry…"

"I know that Harima's face is something that you'd always love to see…" Tenma said mischievously, causing Yakumo's face immediately went extremely red, "But you shouldn't waste food like that, it's a bad habit!"

Yakumo didn't say anything; her face was still all red. She continued to eat her curry in quiet.

Tenma smiled a little at her sister's reaction, and then she turned to Harima.

"And you, Harima-kun!" she exclaimed while pointing out at Harima's plate. "You only eat a small portion of your food! That's not good!"

Harima stared at Tenma, then at his curry, then at Karasuma, then at Tenma, then at his curry, then at Karasuma, then at Tenma.

…

"U…uh…" he said nervously. He wasn't sure that he would like to sample another death-defying spiciness of the curry again, "I am already full…"

"But that's not good!" Tenma said stubbornly. "Its bad luck to leave food unattended like that! And besides, it's definitely disrespectful to the hard work the chef has done in order to make it!"

"Uh…" Harima couldn't find anything appropriate to reply.

He stared at the curry helplessly.

_I_'_ll be dead if I have to eat more of this hellish curry_, he thought desperately. _In a different way_,_ it_'_s even worse than that Ojou or Tenma-chan's Onigiri_……

"Look at Karasuma-kun!" Tenma continued to talk, "He knows how to appreciate food, and he knows how to appreciate the entire chef's hard work!"

…

Harima was somehow moved by Tenma's words.

…

_Damn it_!_ Now she praises that weird-guy again_!_ I won't have it_!

Fiery determination burned inside his heart.

_Like Tenma-chan said_,_ True Gentleman always finishes his food, no matter how bad it is_!_ No matter how spicy it is_!

…

"I'm done." Karasuma said matter-of-factly, and his plate was indeed, empty and clean. With methodical movement, he grabbed his Orange Juice, drank it until the glass was empty, putting the glass down, and when it's all over, resumed his staring out of the window all over again.

Somehow, the sight of Karasuma acting all casually even after eating such death-inciting food fuelled Harima's determination even further. He just couldn't believe that he could let this guy beat him in front of Tenma-chan, even if it's only about eating ultra-spicy curry.

_If that guy can do it_,_ there_'_s no reason I couldn_'_t do it_!

_BRING IT ON_!

"All right, Tsukamoto." he said bravely. "Your words are the light that shines upon my darkest eyes! Your words are the truth itself in all entireties!"

…

_Harima-san says really strange things today_, Yakumo thought to herself, but she, of course, didn't say anything and continued to eat her curry quietly.

…

"I will eat all of this food to show you that I too, a man who appreciate things when they need to be appreciated!" Harima continued to talk gallantly.

"Good!" Tenma said, nodding her head approvingly.

Quenching all of his fears and hesitations, Harima picked his plate, carefully placing it at the same level at his mouth. He opened his mouth as wide as he could, and quickly slid the plate's entire contents into it on one single go.

* * *

**10.10 AM. Sunday. The New Curry Restaurant.**

…

……

"_Sir_……"

…Hmm?

"_Sir_……"

…

What is it?

…

"Sir, are you alright?"

Harima opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the face of the waitress who brought them their food previously, and the white, white, ceiling.

…Ceiling?

He quickly jerked up from the bed, staring at the waitress, all confused.

"W…where am I?" he said, his head was all fuzzy. "W…what's happening to me?"

The waitress sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright." she said. "This is the staff room at our restaurant."

"Staff room?" Harima asked. "W…why am I…, what am I doing here?"

"Well, we have to bring you here after you all of the sudden collapsed back there." the waitress explained. "Though I guess it is no wonder that anyone would collapse when they eat our entire plate of Special Curry in one go. That was definitely impressive, sir."

…_Special curry_?

Harima's head was still all fuzzy. The last thing he remembered was that he ate something extreme, unlike anything he ever ate before, then after that, it was all black…

"Actually, sir, the Special Curry is the reason why no one comes to our restaurant." the waitress sighed exasperatedly. "Before the four of you came, we already had a few customers, and they were all interested in our Special Curry. Well, that's before they tasted how spicy it is and running out from our restaurant with their mouth in fire. I guess after that words spread out that our restaurant's special is something that can put your mouth in fire or something."

"But the owner of the restaurant kept insisting on putting the Special Curry on our menu, since it was a food invented by our Chef, who happens to be his own son." the waitress continued to explain. "Everyone who had a taste of that Curry said that the curry is just too hot for any normal human beings' tongue. But our owner… he is just too stubborn, we couldn't do anything."

Harima didn't say anything—he really didn't focusing himself to hear the waitress' explanation.

"But the other guy that came with you really amazing, sir." the waitress said thoughtfully. "He cleaned his plate and didn't seem bothered by it. His insides must be made of iron or something… it's totally inhuman, if I do may say so myself."

…

_The other guy_?

…

This effectively snapped Harima's attention to reality, the fuzziness inside his head all of the sudden went away.

_That's right_! he thought to himself. _I am currently going out with Tenma-chan_,_ Imouto-san_,_ and that Weird Guy_!

He jumped down from the bed quickly, surprising the waitress.

"The other three who were with me." Harima said worriedly, fearing that they might leave him behind while he's unconscious or something. "Where are they?"

"Oh, you mean your friends?" the waitress answered. "Don't worry, they are all still in the restaurant. They are now currently eating their free orders, complement from our Chef as an apologize having one of their companions—that's you, sir—knocked out. Just head out through that door and take the first door on your right; that will take you straight to our dining room."

"Thanks."

Harima quickly bolted out from the room.

_Argh_,_ why the hell am I doing_,_ falling unconscious like that_! he said to himself with anger. _That is so unlike a gentleman!_

Following the waitress' direction, Harima quickly managed to find the dining room, and to his immense relief, found that Tenma and the others were still sitting on their table.

…

"H---arima-kun!" Tenma waved when she saw Harima.

Harima walked to the table, and sat himself right next to Yakumo. He stared at all of the new food and drinks on the table, apparently the so-called complement from the owner from having him all knocked out. Too bad right now his desire to eat anymore has vanished into thin air.

"A…are you alright, Harima-san?" Yakumo asked worriedly. "You passed out all of the sudden…, making us all worry…"

She handed Harima a red handkerchief with a beautifully and expertly sewn 'T.Y.' letters on its surface.

"Here." she said.

"Thanks." Harima took Yakumo's handkerchief without thinking, and using it to wipe his face, before handing it back to Yakumo.

"Here you go." he said.

"Oh, no Harima-san." Yakumo said quickly. "Just keep it."

"Oh." Harima said. "All right then." he stuffed Yakumo's handkerchief into his shirt's pocket.

…

"But Yakumo is right, Harima-kun." Tenma said as she gazed at Harima. "We were all very worried when you suddenly passed out like that. Right, Karasuma-kun?" Tenma turned to Karasuma.

"Right." Karasuma answered shortly, before continuing to eat the complementary food. He's not even looking at Harima. His focus with his curry was extraordinary.

"See?" Tenma turned her attention back to Harima. "But why you suddenly passed out like that?"

"Oh, y…you know." Harima said awkwardly, his mind was busy searching for an idea—saying that he passed out because the food was too spicy was definitely something shameful, and he didn't want Tenma to think that he was shameful, "Some of the food got stuck on my throat, making me hard to breathe properly. Before I knew it, my head was all fuzzy because the lack of oxygen and I passed out, just like that."

Yakumo thought, of course, that this explanation was far from being logical, but Tenma appeared to think otherwise.

"T---hats why you shouldn't eat like the way you just did." Tenma said in a I-Tell-You-Now-So-You'd-Better-Listen tone. "It's great to be enthusiastic about eating your food, but swallowing all of it in one go like that is not something that you should do. It's an improper way to eat! It's not good for your health!"

"R…right." Harima said nervously. "Sorry about that."

_Well, that goes my plan to the sewer_…, he thought to himself helplessly. _Instead of making her amazed_,_ I make Tenma-chan scolding me like I am some sort of grade-schooler or something_, _right in front of the weird guy nonetheless_._ Waaay to go Harima Kenji_...

…

Yakumo stared at Harima's pale face for a while, before turning to speak with Tenma.

"Nee-san." she said. "I…I think Harima-san is not feeling too well today…, maybe we should just stop this… umm…"

Yakumo tried to find a suitable word to replace this one she didn't want to say, but in the end she couldn't do it and just went with the original…

"This… double-date…" Yakumo continued. "So that Harima-san can rest for today…"

Tenma gazed at Harima.

Not too long after that she nodded.

"Well, I guess its true." she said with disappointed voice. "Harima-kun does look like he is sick or something, so I guess we can just end this double-date… I guess its fine then, right, Karasuma-kun?"

"Right." Karasuma answered shortly while putting the last piece of the complementary curry inside his mouth.

…

Yakumo felt relieved.

Seeing her sister's disappointed face was clearly not something that she wanted to do, but in this case she just had to do it, for a greater cause. She felt uncomfortable already from the start about having this double-date, and now she's glad she could end it prematurely. She was sure that Harima would want it that way too, because at least now he didn't have to continue doing this double-date he'd most probably unwilling to do at the first place anyway…

…

…But Harima seemed to think otherwise.

"What are you guys planning to do after this restaurant?" he asked Tenma, though his eyes were all focused to Karasuma, who just finished eating his share of the complementary curry (Yakumo and Tenma weren't touching their share at all) and now drinking his second glass of Orange Juice.

"Well…" Tenma said, acting all giddy. "I figure that although it's not going to be double-date anymore, I can at least still go with Karasuma-kun. I want to see this new movie at the theatre…"

She looked at Karasuma with the most wishful stare on her eyes,

"You still want to go, right, Karasuma-kun?" she said. "The movie seems to be a really nice one, and I want to see it together with you…" Tenma's face went red as she said that.

"Okay." Karasuma answered, without even thinking, it seems. "I'll go with you to see this movie, Tsukamoto-san."

It seemed like Tenma had this very big sign with the word HAPPINESS plastered on her face when she heard Karasuma's answer. She's smiling all happily right now.

"Then I'll go too." Harima said confidently, surprising Yakumo. "It's been a long time since I last saw a movie, it won't hurt to see one right now, especially if the movie is a good one."

Seeing her act giddy around Karasuma was not something that Harima would classify as something pleasant, but thinking about her Tenma-chan all alone with the weird guy inside the dark room of a movie theatre bothered him even more.

This thought alone burned his fighting spirit to the max all over again.

He stared at Yakumo, who also staring at him.

"It's okay, right, Imouto-san?" he said. "I'm feeling fine, anyway. I can do well with watching a good movie or two."

…

Yakumo stared at Harima for a moment, before finally broke her eyes away and said, "Okay…"

…

Truthfully, she'd rather not do this double-date anymore—but something about the way Harima looking at her made something inside her heart twitched.

Maybe it's the determination. Maybe it's the desire…, she didn't know and she couldn't tell what it is.

…Maybe it's because she understood the real reason behind Harima wanting to tag along watching a movie with her sister and Karasuma. Maybe it's because deep down on her heart, he appreciated the honest feelings that Harima has for his sister, which sadly, apparently, only she could see…

…

……

"Are you sure, Harima-kun?" Tenma was scrutinizing Harima. "Yakumo is right, you know; you don't have to go if you're not feeling alright."

"I am fine, I am fine!" Harima answered boldly, though in the reality he felt an uncomfortable sensation inside his stomach, like he swallowed a cooking stove or something—no thanks to the super-spicy curry. "It's good to watch movies on Sunday, you know! It's healthy!"

"Oh, all right then." Tenma said finally. She seemed happy that the double-date wasn't stopped already. "We'd better go now then—from what I heard the movie is quite popular, we might not be able to obtain good seats if we're not hurry."

Tenma waved her hands to the waitress, who hurriedly approaches them.

"Thank you for the complementary food, though it seems only Karasuma-kun eating it." Tenma said, staring at her and Yakumo's untouched share of complementary curry. "Anyway, how much should we pay for our previous food and drinks?"

"Uh, the owner said that you don't have to pay for them." the waitress answered. "B…but in turn he asked that you kept the…, um… incident…, as a secret that you won't tell to anyone else." she added hastily.

"Really? We don't have to pay anything?" Tenma replied happily. "Of course, we'll be more than glad to keep what happened to Harima-kun as a secret…, right everyone?"

"Of course." Harima said matter-of-factly, while Yakumo nodded, and Karasuma muttered a flat, "Fine."

"That's good, then." said the waitress with a relieved tone.

"Well, we'd better go now." Tenma said as she went up from her chair.

…

"Ah, miss." Karasuma suddenly raised his hand and talked to the waitress. "Since Tsukamoto-san and Tsukamoto-san didn't eat their share of complementary curry, do you mind if I'll have them wrapped for me to eat at home? It's a shame to waste curry like that."

…

The waitress, Harima, and Yakumo all stared at him blankly.

…

"Wow, Karasuma-kun." Tenma watched Karasuma in amazement. "You really like curry, do you?"

* * *

**11.30 AM. Sunday. The Movie Theatre.**

…

……

"Wow, look at the line!" Tenma said as she pointed out the people queuing for the movie tickets. It was a very long line. "I've read in a magazine that this movie is popular, but I wouldn't have guessed that it is _this _popular!"

"What movie is it, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked quietly, trying to ignore all of the words popping out from nearly every guys looking at her right now—most of which involving something that your typical polite girl wouldn't want to hear. It was one of the reasons why she didn't feel to comfortable visiting crowded area such as this one; she was bound to read minds even she didn't have any desire to do so.

…

"It's called 'The Adventure of When He Lost Love and Found It Again'." Tenma said excitedly. "It's quite a long title for a movie, and movies with long titles usually turned out bad—but this movie isn't bad, apparently, judging from how popular it is."

"Is it a romance drama?" Harima asked apprehensively. Romance movies were not his favourite, really, as he tends to fell asleep every time he tried to seriously watched one. Of course, it would be a different case altogether if he's watching it just with Tenma all alone, but since this was not the case, he feared that his habit would show its ugly head, right in front of _the_ person he definitely didn't want to show it to.

"Well, yeah, you can tell from the title, right?" Tenma answered.

Harima looked at the movie posters being put above the other tickets' counter.

-The Ultra Mighty Robo-Man-… why would someone name their movie with a very cheesy title like this was something out of Harima's comprehension…

-The Horror of Those Who Shall Put Horrors With You-… what's with this stupid title anyway?

-The Adventure of the Ice-Cream Man-……right, out of the question. Ice cream was great, but not great when being used in a movie title like this!

-The Death Monster-… this one sounds decent, but when Harima saw the poster of the movie featuring a big, bad, clown with huge red nose carrying an Uzi on his right hand and a big mean knife on his left hand……well, it's only common sense that Harima's desire to watch this movie dropped very significantly after that.

…

It seemed like among all others, the movie that Tenma mentioned was really the only decent one, with the poster featuring a handsome man hugging a beautiful woman, a typical for a movie on this genre, but at least it was normal compared to some crazy clown or whatever.

Maybe that explained too the reason why there were only three to five people queuing at the other counters. The only exception was The Ultra Mighty Robo Man, which had quite a number of people queuing; unfortunately most of them were little kids busy screaming super heroes punch-line and stuffs like that.

…

"Ah, we'd better start joining the queue, then." Tenma said. When she saw the very long line, however, her spirit seemed to drop.

"But look at the long line…" she said with a rather depressed tone. "It would be tiring to get the tickets, wouldn't it…, but I guess we don't have many choices here but to queue, do we…"

Harima's radar of Time-To-Impress-Tenma-Chan suddenly activated.

**PLAN THREE: ACTING ALL COOL IN THE MOVIE THEATRE**

"Don't worry, Tsukamoto!" he said impressively, while beating his chest for a more dramatic effect, "I'll be queuing for the tickets for you! You just sit, relax your wary legs, and let me handle the tickets!"

"Really?" Tenma said happily, her antennas flipping upside-down excitedly.

"Of course!" Harima said boldly. Then he went even further with it, "And don't worry for the money for the tickets! It's entirely my treat for today!"

"Re----ally?" Tenma's eyes were all sparkling with excitement, the antennas on her hair moving even faster.

"Harima-san." Yakumo interjected quickly before Harima's offer of generosity to impress her sister getting out of hand, "You _really_ don't have to pay for all. It's inappropriate for…"

"Do not fear!" Harima bellowed confidently. _Wow, I am such a gentleman!_ "When I said it's alright, it's alright!"

He peeked at the price tag for the tickets located above each and every ticket counters. _This is going to blow my money away_, _but for Tenma-chan, I'll do anything!_

"But I…"

"It's alright, it's alright!" Harima said.

…

"…ok, then." Yakumo surrendered, defeated, seeing the determined posture of Harima.

_I guess men really are stubborn when they trying to impress the person they like_…

…

"Thank you so much!" Tenma said happily. "Well then, Harima-kun, me and Karasuma-kun are going to buy some popcorn, okay? I'll leave the tickets with you, okay!"

…

_Though in the case of Nee-san_, _they probably need to be extra stubborn_, _and try twice as hard_…

"Nee-san, I want to buy some snacks too, okay?" Yakumo said.

_Since most probably Nee-san will forget to buy Harima-san something_, _I might as well go_. _I will buy him some snacks, though perhaps it will be better if I don't tell him this, lest he will offer his money to buy them too_…

…

"I am… I am still a bit hungry."

"Oh, alright then." Tenma nodded. "Well then, Harima-kun, thanks again!"

Tenma, Yakumo, and Karasuma all went to buy the snacks.

…

Harima stiffened his body and looked at the _very_ long line for Tenma's movies' tickets.

"Damn it, the line is very long…" he mumbled to himself. "Well, I might be able to cut the line by glaring at them one by one, but…"

He quickly dismissed the idea. He wouldn't want to change into his delinquent ways during times like this!—especially not when Tenma-chan was around.

"A gentleman should keep his promises." Harima mumbled again. "And since I've already promised Tenma-chan to buy her tickets, I'll buy them even it costs me my life!"—exaggeration Harima-style. "Even if it means I have to spend money to buy a ticket for that Weird Guy…"

He quickly joined the queue.

* * *

**11.35 AM. Sunday. The Movie Theatre's Snacks Section.**

…

……

"Nee-san." Yakumo said. "At what time the movie is going to play?"

"Umm…" Tenma's eyes were squinting. "If I'm not mistaken, the movie will play at twenty past twelve. Why?"

"Um… nothing." Yakumo replied quickly.

She didn't think that Harima would manage to grab them the tickets for the show at twenty past twelve. Judging by the long lines he must went through in order to get the tickets, most probably they would have to watch the movie at the next showing, which probably in the afternoon, which of course, most probably ended up causing their double-date to stretch all the way to the night.

…

"Karasuma-kun, what kind of popcorn do you want?" Tenma asked by the time they arrived at the popcorn-counter, greeted by an over-friendly 'Welcome' by the one of the attendants there.

Karasuma scanned the list of the popcorns available which was embedded at the popcorn machine next to the attendant.

"You don't have curry-flavoured popcorn?" he said, in a rather disappointed voice.

"Uh…" said the attendant. "I apologize, sir, we don't serve…, um…, curry flavoured popcorn…"

"Well…" Karasuma said. "Sweet and Spicy, then. Large-size."

"Very fine, sir." said the attendant, activating the popcorn machine. "And what would you like to have, miss?" He turned to Tenma and Yakumo.

"The same." Tenma answered. "How about you, Yakumo?"

"I'll have the same, but no spicy." Yakumo answered. "Two of them, please." After eating lots of curry back at the restaurant, she didn't feel the need to eat anything spicy again, and most probably Harima-san shared the same sentiment also.

"Excellent." said the attendant. "What size?"

"Um…" Yakumo thought for a moment. "Medium."

After having finished with Karasuma's popcorn, the attendant started to reactivate the machine to process Tenma's and Yakumo's popcorns. It didn't take him long to complete the task.

…

"There you go." the attendant presented the popcorns.

"Nice!" Tenma said happily. "How much?" she opened her wallet.

"Tsukamoto-san." Karasuma interjected. "Let me pay for the popcorns."

"Eh?"

"Let me pay for the popcorns." Karasuma said once again. "After all, you and your sister already gave me your supplementary curries back then at the restaurant."

"Oh…" Tenma blushed. "A…alright then, Karasuma-kun."

When Yakumo stared at her sister at this exact moment, words like "Karasuma-kun is so cool!", "This is how true men should act!", "Wow, he's so nice!" popping out here and there around her sister's head.

…

All of the sudden she felt a pang in her heart; a pang she recognized as, maybe, a pity, for Harima-san.

In here, all Karasuma-san needed to do was to buy them popcorns for a relatively meagre amount of Yen, and all of those words automatically popping out from around her sister's head. While back there, Harima-san went as far as lining himself on an extra-long queue, even willing to pay for the movie tickets for all of them—which of course, reasonably a lot more expensive.

Even so, not even one word of appreciation pops around her sister's head…

…_I guess the gap is still too big for Harima-san to fill right now_…, Yakumo thought to herself. _But_ _maybe_…_someday_… _things will change_…

…

This last thought surprised even Yakumo herself.

She was surprised to see herself hoping that someday her Nee-san would finally notice Harima-san's attentions to her. If her sister was already happy with Karasuma-san, then it should be a no problem for her whether her sister would notice Harima-san or not, right? After all, the most important thing to consider here was her sister's feelings…

…

But somehow, she couldn't help it to cheer for Harima-san, seeing that Harima-san is a nice person and that his feelings for Nee-san are all pure and true. She already thought that the reason why his mind was so impenetrable for her was because his unbroken devotion to her sister, and never before she felt Harima-san ever think of something badly in regards to her sister.

…

……

……_Harima_-_san_……

…

……

"Yakumo!" Tenma's voice effectively snapping Yakumo's out from her reverie, making her jump a little. "What's the matter? You're spacing out! Here's your popcorn!" Tenma pushed two medium-sized popcorns to Yakumo, while her own popcorn being held by Karasuma. "One of them is for Harima-kun, right?"

"O…oh, sorry." Yakumo said softly. She grabbed the popcorns, then she think of something.

"Nee-san, while we're at it, we'd better buy some drinks too."

Tenma nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I am thinking too." she said. "What would you like to drink, Yakumo?"

Yakumo thought it for a moment.

…

……"I guess…" she finally said. "Orange juice is fine…"

* * *

**12.00 AM. Sunday. The Movie Theatre.**

…

……

_A gentleman must persevere_…

…_A gentleman must persevere_...

……_A gentleman must not crumble before the end_…

Those were the mantra words Harima kept repeating over and over again inside his head during his wait on the queue for The Adventure of When He Lost Love and Found It Again tickets. He wouldn't have guessed it before that waiting to get tickets for an extremely popular movie was all a battle of endurance like this, most particularly when…

…

"Aw, that tickles!" _combined with_ "Hehe, but you like it, right?"

"Hey! Stop doing that you pervert!" _followed with_ "But you seem to like it…"

"Don't do it now…, be patient, okay?" _replied with_ "…Okay…_not_."

"I've already booked a room for us, you know…" _answered with _"What? You pervert…heheheheh…"

…

All the conversations he heard from the queuing people were all like that. It must be bad luck for him to be surrounded by a bunch of couples during a time like this—and not just a bunch of couples too…… they were all a bunch of _horny_ couples!

…

Harima felt the urge to smack them in the face one by one, but of course, he wouldn't let his delinquent side took over while Tenma-chan was watching…

He took a peek at Tenma and the others.

Right now they were all sitting on one of the waiting benches near the back of the line. Tenma was speaking cheerfully with Karasuma, while Karasuma himself just nods here and there occasionally. Imouto-san seemed busy dealing with a bunch of guys trying to court her, although occasionally, he _could_ feel that she's staring at him.

…

When Tenma saw that Harima's staring at them, she energetically waved her hands while mouthing, "G-a-n-b-a-t-t-e!" and giving Harima a thumb up.

"Yooosssh!" Harima roared with spirits after being energized by Tenma's thumb up.

_It will be shameful if I don't get the tickets after Tenma-chan supporting me that much! Why should I care about this long line and all of these horny perverts when Tenma-chan is here and watching me all along_, _giving me support_?

…

Harima counted all the people lining up in front of him.

One…two…five…

_Heh_, _six more people_ (or to be more precise, 12 more people, since all of them were couples lining together)—_this won't take long_!

He slapped his cheeks.

_BRING IT ON_!

…

……

Four more…

……

Three…

……Two…

…

…One…

…

Finally!

After a long, tiring, hard journey, Harima finally managed to get his turn on the tickets' counter.

"Four tickets." he said, taking out his wallet to prepare the money.

_Damn_, _this will empty my wallet for sure_!_ But everything_'_s alright as long as it_'_s for Tenma-chan_!

"Sorry." said the man behind the counter flatly. "There are only three tickets left."

"What?" Harima exclaimed loudly. "Only _three tickets_ left?"

His yell made everyone lining up behind him shocked in surprise. Not too long after that murmurs of disappointments among them began to elevate.

"That's what I said." the man said curtly. Perhaps he too, was tired and annoyed having to serve all of those horny giggling couples. "You want them or not?"

"W…when is the next showing?" Harima asked.

"There will be no next showing for today." the man answered. "Due to a special occasion, this theatre will be closed early; so this is the final showing for the movie today."

"What?" Harima exclaimed loudly again. "No more showing today?"

This yell effectively caused a ruckus amongst those lining up behind Harima. Many of them appeared to be shocked. Not too long after that the people queuing for the tickets were dispersed, all of them grumbling or suddenly thrown into bad mood.

…

"What's the matter, I wonder?" Tenma was wondering, seeing the queue for the movie dispersed, "Why all the people go away?"

From where she sat right now, it appeared that she couldn't hear Harima's yell previously, nor Karasuma and Yakumo.

"I don't know." Yakumo said quietly, staring at Harima.

…

……

"Special occasion?" Harima said. "What kind of special occasion?"

"The boss' birthday is today, so all of us employees are going to celebrate it." said the man behind the ticket's counter flatly. "It's free food and drinks, and it is the only time in a year when we can afford to actually like our boss. You want the tickets or not?"

"But aren't the customers more important than a birthday party?" Harima demanded furiously.

"Not as important as free food and drinks." the man didn't even flinch as he said this. "No matter what you say, we won't change our schedule for today. You-want-the-tickets-or-not?"

…

…_Three tickets_?_ That means only three of us will be able to watch this movie today_! _And Tenma-chan is all so fired up to watch this movie she would be very disappointed if she couldn't do it today_!

Of course, the only person he could dispatch easily amongst all the choices was Karasuma…

But then again it wouldn't be as simple as that…

…

…_Damn it_…

Of all the times available for him in the whole wide world, he regretted that it was this day that he decided to act all gentlemanly in front of Tenma-chan…

…

"Fine." he said finally. "Three tickets, then."

The man behind the counter swiftly gave Harima the tickets, and Harima grudgingly pushed the tickets' fee to him. After Harima grabbed the tickets, the man sighed in relief, and without further ado, quickly pulled the closing curtain down without forgetting beforehand stamping a large 'CLOSED' sign at the counter's window.

…_Crazy bastard_, Harima said to himself while making a mental note of _never_, _EVER_, go to this movie theatre again in the future.

…

He approached the waiting three while grumbling here and there, cursing his seemingly forever bad-luck.

…

"Hi." he said, unable to hide the gloom written all over his face. "Sorry for the long wait."

"That's fine, we still have time before the movie starts." Tenma said while checking her watch on her left wrist. "So, you get the tickets?"

"Yeah, here." he gave the tickets he's holding to Tenma, and Tenma cheerfully picked them up.

"Great!" she said enthusiastically. "That way we can all…… huh?"

Then she noticed that there were only three tickets, instead of four, on her hand. She stared questioningly at Harima.

"Why do you buy only three tickets?" she asked.

"That's the last tree." Harima answered, scratching his head. "_Really_ the last three. The bast…, I mean, the man who sold me the ticket told me that there will be no more showings for today except for this one, since they are going to go to some sort of stup…, I mean, go to their boss' birthday party or something."

"No more showing?" Tenma asked. "So these are really the last tickets for today?"

_So that_'_s why all of those people lining up went away_, Yakumo thought.

"Yeah." Harima said, trying to act all casual. "The three of you should go on ahead then."

Tenma and Yakumo stared at Harima, while Karasuma kept eating his popcorn, apparently unaware of just didn't care about this sudden development.

…

"What do you mean by 'the three of you'?" Tenma asked stubbornly. "We couldn't just possibly leave you behind!"

"Yes, Harima-san." Yakumo added; her face looks worried. "We could just go another time to watch this movie, or we could just find another movie theatre to watch it."

"The movie is so popular that most probably the tickets were all sold out already in all places." Harima tried to argue. "Besides, I got those three tickets after lining up for… literally… forever. The money used to purchase the tickets is definitely not refundable. So why don't you guys just go ahead and watch the movie? I'll only have to wait for two or three hours anyway—I'll find something fun to do in the meantime."

"But…!" Tenma said, before being interrupted again by Harima.

"Look, you wanted to see this movie so badly, right?" he said. "What's so hard about it anyway? Just go! Otherwise the money I used to buy the tickets would be wasted. Just go."

"But……"

…

"Tsukamoto-san." this time the one talking was Karasuma.

The other three quickly averted their attention to him.

After closing his large-sized cup of popcorn, he said, "It would be best if we just go."

"But Karasuma-kun…" Tenma was definitely torn by the fact that she _really _wanted to watch a movie together with Karasuma yet at the same time she felt like she couldn't just leave Harima behind.

"It would be disrespectful for us to decline his offer after he has been lining up for the tickets for so long." Karasuma continued, still in a flat tone. "Besides, it _is_ Harima-san's wish for us to go and watch the movie, right?"

Harima never thought that the day would come when he agreed to anything the Weird Guy could probably say, but since there was no other way around it right now, he forced a muttered, "Y…yeah. Right…"

…

……

"Just go, Nee-san." Yakumo suddenly make a statement. "I'll be waiting for the two of you with Harima-san here."

"What? Imouto-san, I bought the ticket for you too!" Harima replied stubbornly. "You should go with…"

"…Okay, Nee-san?" Yakumo ignored Harima's reply. She was staring at her sister rather intently.

…

It was really surprising to see Yakumo acted so forcibly like this—something about a silent person could just explode all of the sudden, probably.

…

"You just go with Karasuma-san. Like Harima-san just said, it's only for two or two and a half hour—three hours tops, anyway. It's not that long. I'll just stay here with Harima-san because I just cannot leave him alone."

"…" Tenma stared at Harima, then at Yakumo, then again at Harima, then at Yakumo, then finally at Karasuma.

…

……

"Well…" she said hesitantly. "Are you two really sure about this? We can just watch another movie, you know…"

"All of them are trash." Harima said straight to the hard, cold, truth.

"Look, Nee-san…" Yakumo said again. "Just go, okay?"

"Well… alright then…" Tenma said finally. "If you two insist…"

"I _am_ insisting." said Harima with a final, conclusive, tone.

"Alright then…" Tenma said, although with a rather undecided tone. "Let's go, Karasuma-kun. And thanks again, Harima-kun…"

"No problem." Harima answered, waving his hand casually.

…

So Tenma and Karasuma went off to see the movie, leaving Harima and Yakumo behind, sitting in the waiting bench.

…

Since the crowd queuing for Tenma's movie has dispersed, the movie theatre was seemingly empty all of the sudden. It appeared that most of the people wandering around in this place before came with the intention of watching that particular movie. The only people left were small children queuing for the Robo-man movie, and one-two people lining for the other, rather obscure—well, _trash_, according to Harima—movies.

…

……

………

"You know, Imouto-san, it would be best if you just go watch the movie with them." Harima said as he leaned back at the bench. "The movie's pretty good, it seems."

"It's okay…" Yakumo replied quietly. She handed Harima a cup of popcorn with a cup of Orange Juice that she bought previously. "…Here, Harima-san, this is for you."

"Thanks." Harima took them. He skipped eating the popcorn though, and went straight to the Orange Juice.

…

……

"But I was quite surprised to see you talk to your sister like that." Harima said. "I've never seen you as a person capable of doing that kind of thing."

Yakumo's face went a little red.

"…W…well, that…" she said, rather awkwardly. "…That's because it was special, so…"

"Special?" Harima said in a questioning tone.

"I…it's nothing!" Yakumo added rather hastily.

"Huh." Harima mumbled.

…

……

"Say, Imouto-san." Harima said, drinking the last drop of his Orange Juice.

"…What?" Yakumo replied a bit nervously—the atmosphere between the two of them was such that Yakumo, for some reason, couldn't help but to feel a bit nervous at the situation.

"Thank you for accompanying me here." Harima said quietly.

…

Yakumo stared at Harima for a moment.

…

"You're welcome." she said softly.

* * *

**3.40 PM. Sunday. Osakabe Itoko's Residence.**

…

……

"I'm home!" Harima announced his arrival. When he heard TV voices coming from inside, he knew that the one watching it would be Itoko.

"Hi, Kenji." Itoko said—without averting her eyes from the television—by the time Harima arrived at the living room. "How's the date?"

"Stupendous." Harima answered shortly, as he opened the refrigerator to pick up his fourth Orange Juice for today.

…

There was something in the way Harima answered her question that made Itoko turned her attention away from the television to her cousin. By the time she looked upon Harima's face, however, she felt like she already knew all the answers even before popping out the questions.

She didn't bother to ask him more.

…

"By the way, Itoko-san." Harima said. "Where's that little neat device that you used to impersonate my voice this morning?"

"What do you want to do with it?" Itoko said as she turned her attention back at the television. She knew that the only times when Harima used the suffix –san behind her name were the times when he wanted something from her or something similar to that effect.

"Oh, just some stuff." Harima answered, trying to act casually.

"Some stuff?" Itoko said suspiciously.

"Nothing law breaking or anything like that!" Harima added hastily. "Really, I just want to borrow it for a while!"

…

……

It took some time for Itoko to decide that it was probably alright for her to lend Harima the device. "It's in the top drawer over there." She pointed at one of the drawers inside the living room. "Don't—break—it."

"I won't, I won't, don't worry!" Harima said reassuringly. He quickly moved to the said drawers and not too long after that found the device. "How do you use it?"

"There's a little screen there, with names." Itoko explained. "Scroll the names using the up and down buttons. When you see the name of the person you'd like to use his or her voice with, push the square button, and that's just that. Just speak with the device close to your mouth."

"Impressive." Harima stared at the little device. "Thanks a lot Itoko-san. I will return it to you before you know it."

Harima walked into his room while humming an obscure song.

By the time he's inside his room, however, he stopped his humming, and immediately threw himself to his bed.

…

……

_I have failed today_…, he said miserably inside his head. _Maybe lady luck just hates me or something_…

…

He stared at Itoko's neat little device. With his thumb, he started to push the up and down buttons, staring at the list of names appearing on the small screen on the device.

There were quite a number of people being recorded here… Harima wondered since when Itoko started to record people's voices…

…

Many of the names listed there were intriguing, to say the least. Harima could imagine tons of fun things to do with the voice of these people……, but he didn't borrow Itoko's device to plan something evil like that.

No, he did it for a different reason…

…

His thumb kept pressing the down button and the names on the little screen kept changing.

Until the name he's been looking for finally showed up on the little screen.

…

Harima gazed at the name for a moment, before bringing the device close to his mouth, his thumb pressing the square button…

Then he spoke…

…

"I love you, Harima-kun." with Tsukamoto Tenma's voice.

……

Even though it was technically his voice, Harima couldn't help himself to blush furiously at the voice of Tenma saying 'I love you, Harima-kun.'

His face was sweating profoundly, while his heart-beat went like crazy from 0 to 100 mph in just one second flat.

His body was all shaking.

…

…It's quite amazing… the effect of such simple words could bring even to a tough guy like Harima.

…

Harima stared at the device again for a short while, before putting it down on top of the drawer next to his bed, sighing helplessly.

_Just how pathetic I am_,_ really_… he said to himself. _Using Tenma-chan_'_s voice to say stuff like that_…… _I am a sad excuse for a man_…

…

Not too long after that, however, his eyes all of the sudden filled with fiery determination.

…

_I won't surrender just yet_! he said to himself with burning spirit. _I will NEVER surrender_. _Someday_,_ I swear I will make those words coming out from the REAL Tenma-chan_,_ otherwise my name isn't Harima Kenji_!

* * *

**To Be Continued**


	3. Rumble 3

**SCHOOL RUMBLE: TWIST, TWIST, & TURN**

**By: Pizza Blade**

**PART THREE**

* * *

It was another Monday, and the sky was perfect blue. The weather was nice and inviting; the wind blew softly through tree leafs making a nice, subtle, and calming orchestra for everybody's ears to hear; the birds sung with such voice that you just couldn't help but to feel happy to listen to them; all of these things made even the laziest person had no choice but feel compelled to open their windows and enjoy the atmosphere.

…

"Good morning!"

"Hi, how are you?"

"How's your Sunday?"

"This is a wonderful day, isn't it?"

…

Even amongst all the students walking on Yagamizaka road, the atmosphere was no less then perfect. Every single face appeared to be cheerful and energetic. It was one of those days when you just seemingly felt that nothing could ever go wrong. It was one of those days when you just got those good feelings inside your heart when you woke up and thinking that nothing would ever stand in your way.

…

Truly, in a day as marvellous as this, it would seem impossible for anyone not to be cheerful.

…

That was even truer for a girl called Tsukamoto Tenma.

Ever since she departed from her house, not even one second that happy smile gone from Tenma's face. It seemed that she was in a completely different place from the world of reality surrounding her; it was as if she was inside this hidden, secluded, impenetrable place where she could just smile all day without having needed to worry about anything from the outside world that could disturb her.

Even her sister, Tsukamoto Yakumo, who always walked together to school together with her, was unable to disturb Tenma's happy-happy land's impenetrable walls.

She didn't mind at all, though. Seeing her sister all happy like that was more than enough entertainment to accompany her all the way from their house to the school.

…

……

Though, Yakumo finally decided that it would probably be best for her to get her sister out from her fantasy land. Even though she was happy to see her sister smiling non-stop like that, she couldn't help but to feel worry that people all around them might think her sister as some sort of crazy person or something, grinning all like that. Actually, a few people already cast a "hey-look-that-girl-is-strange" to Tenma during their journey from their house, and the last thing Yakumo wanted was for people to think her sister as an abnormal person or something.

…

Well, Nee-san is a _unique_ person, but certainly she's not abnormal!

……

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said quietly.

…

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said again, a bit more audible this time because her sister still hasn't got back from her reverie yet.

…

Yakumo tapped Tenma's sister gently and once again said, "Nee-san." a bit louder.

"Eh?" It worked. Tenma has returned to the real world. She turned to her little sister. "What, Yakumo?"

"You seem so happy today." Yakumo said, smiling. "What happened yesterday at the theatre during the movie must have been something wonderful."

Tenma blushed.

"Well, yes, I…I guess you can say it that way." Tenma said, a bit awkward. "I mean, Yakumo, I am finally able to see that movie together with Karasuma-kun. It's been a long while I wanted to go to the movie theatre together with him."

"Was the movie good?" Yakumo asked. Yesterday, after the double-date ended, Yakumo couldn't ask Tenma anything because her sister was still too busy grinning and blushing all by herself every ten seconds or so. She didn't want to ruin the happy atmosphere.

"I don't know…" Tenma answered thoughtfully. "I mean, I didn't really _really _watch it—I was too nervous sitting right next to Karasuma-kun in a dark theatre like that…"

"Oh…" Yakumo said.

Tenma's face suddenly went a bit down.

"…I guess I should go apologize to Harima-kun." Tenma said slowly. "I guess I was being rude not to watch the movie seriously after he bought the tickets and all that…"

Yakumo's mind flew backwards for a moment, recalling the time yesterday when her and Harima were talking this and that in that bench while waiting for her sister and Karasuma. Then her mind continued to fast-forward a little to the time when the double-date ended and they were all saying good-byes to each other.

From what she could see from Harima's face yesterday, he clearly was…, unhappy. He smiled yesterday when they parted ways, and she still couldn't read his mind, but even so it didn't take a genius to see from his face that he was seriously disappointed on how things went on their double-date.

Though she still a bit puzzled on why Harima accepted her Nee-san invitation, she still understands as to why Harima's face like it was at the end of the double-date.

…

"Yakumo?" Tenma enquired, snapping Yakumo back from her thought.

"What…?" she said. "Oh…, sorry, Nee-san."

"Anyway, I'd better apologize to him..." Tenma said thoughtfully.

"I don't think that would be necessary, Nee-san." Yakumo said quietly. "You don't have to apologize to him for that. I am sure it's okay. Even if he knows that you didn't watch the movie seriously yesterday, he won't be mad at you."

"You think so?" Tenma said.

"Yes." Yakumo replied.

Of course, she knew that no matter for whatever reason, Harima-kun wouldn't be able to get mad with her Nee-san.

…

Tenma gazed at Yakumo.

"…What?" Yakumo said, aware that her sister wouldn't be looking at her like that if there was no reason. Too bad she couldn't see any words spinning around her sister's head right now, so that she wouldn't be able to know.

Tenma smiled.

"Oh, nothing." she said. "Now that I think about it, I never thank _you_, Yakumo, for what you did yesterday. At the time when you volunteered yourself to accompany Harima-kun waiting for me and Karasuma-kun while we watched the movie. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Yakumo replied softly. "I just did what I have to do. It would be inappropriate for me to leave Harima-san waiting alone all by himself."

"I guess…" Tenma added. "That's true, since you are his girlfriend and all."

"Nee-san…" it was like an automatic system; now, every time Tenma mentioned that Yakumo and Harima was a couple, something clicked on Yakumo's mind and 'Deny-it' mode systematically activated. "Harima-san and me…"

"But I envy you, Yakumo, really." Tenma said all of the sudden, and this effectively ends Yakumo's Deny-it mode.

"…Envy?" Yakumo said.

Tenma nodded.

"You seem to understand Harima-kun very well." Tenma sighed. "You two seemed to be in a perfect harmony with each-other or something. I wish I could do the same with Karasuma-kun like you did with Harima-kun…"

…

A part inside Yakumo wanted to deny what Tenma just said, saying about her and Harima in a perfect harmony or like that. But another part inside her, for reasons she couldn't comprehend, made her unable to do so.

…

In the end, the second part won, and Yakumo didn't say anything in reply to her sister's assessment.

"Oh well!" Tenma said, clapping her hands. "It's no use to think about this right now—this is too good of a day for me to think seriously!"

Yakumo smiled hearing her sister's comment. If there's something she envied her sister with, one of them must be her ability to just brush things aside, and instead of cowering when things got hard, she just continuously staring forward as if nothing was happening.

…

"Look!" Tenma pointed out. "It's Eri-chan, Miko-chan, and Akira-chan!"

Yakumo looked up, and there was indeed her sister's best friends walking in front of them, chatting animatedly with each other (well, 'animatedly' might not be an appropriate word to describe the way Takano-sempai conversing with another person).

"Eri-ch…!" Tenma yelled to call them, but she was stopped mid-sentence by Yakumo grabbing one of her arm.

"What's wrong, Yakumo?" Tenma said questioningly as she stared at Yakumo.

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said apprehensively. "You remember about…, what we talked back at the house, right?"

"What we talked back at the house?" Tenma said in confusion.

Yakumo nodded. Well, it was not outside her sister's nature to easily forget things.

"…Yes." Yakumo said. "About our……, um, double-date yesterday."

Tenma gave it a thought for a while, before finally clapping her hands, apparently having remembered something important.

"Oh, that!" she said. "About you don't want anyone to know about our double-date yesterday?"

"Yes." Yakumo said quietly.

"And about you don't want anyone to know about my notes?"

"…Yes." Yakumo said again.

…

The notes Tenma referring to was the notebook where she scribbled down all things and stuffs about "what to do on the next date with Karasuma-kun." Yakumo was surprised this morning when Tenma showed her the notes.

Now, usually Yakumo wouldn't mind about her sister having a "what to do on the next date" notebook. Seeing that her sister was the kind of person who even thought about using _Yabumi_ to deliver her love letter, a notebook like that was pretty normal for her.

What Yakumo mind was the fact that at the very first page of the notebook, Tenma wrote, in a quite large writing further embellished by pictures of hearts and flowers, "Lessons I learn from Yakumo & Harima-kun about Dates." Tenma already wrote a couple of things below it too. Things that Yakumo just couldn't comprehend where her sister derived them from, seeing that yesterday for as far as she could remember her and Harima-san didn't do anything out of the ordinary, or anything that could even be classified as "things couples do."

Apparently Tenma wrote all of those stuffs right after the double-date ended yesterday. Yakumo didn't really think before that her sister was serious about the "I want to do a double-date so I can learn things from you and Harima-kun" thing, but she should have thought about it before: her sister was always serious regarding stuff like this.

Of course, Yakumo wouldn't want the notebook fall into the wrong hands, particularly when she thought about all of the consequences that might happen after that.

…

……

"Why do you have to keep it secret, anyway?" Tenma enquired. "I mean, I understand if you don't want people to know about the stuff I wrote on the notebook, but I don't understand why do you want no one to know about you and Harima-kun went on a double-date with me and Karasuma-kun yesterday."

"Ah…" Yakumo said. "It…it's because…"

…

Yakumo couldn't say it.

Tenma stared at her sister for a while, before sighing.

"Alright then, Yakumo, if that is what you want." Tenma tapped Yakumo's shoulder gently, smiling. "I guess, after all things considered, you really are still a shy person at heart, eh?"

"Shy" was not necessarily the main reason why Yakumo did not want the news about yesterday's event leaked out, although of course it was certainly a _part_ of the reason. Nevertheless, to avoid further complications that might ensue from further conversation with her sister, Yakumo just nodded.

"Thank you, Nee-san." she said, smiling.

…

"I am going to say hi to them, okay, Yakumo?" Tenma said, pointing at her three best friends.

"Okay." Yakumo replied.

Tenma went off to greet her friends on this beautiful morning of school day.

…

……

Yakumo stared at them from behind. Her sister, Takano-sempai, Suou-sempai, and Sawachika-sempai. At Eri, her eyes lingered for a moment, before someone tapped her left shoulder softly from behind.

It was Sara Adiemas, one of her classmates who also happened to be her best friend.

"Morning, Yakumo!" she said cheerfully. "This is a great day, isn't it?"

"Yes." Yakumo replied, smiling. "Ah, but we should go to class right now." she said as she took a peek at her wrist-watch.

"It is too bad that we can't enjoy this blue sky for a little while longer…" Sara said longingly, staring at the crystal clear sky. "But I guess school is a much important matter than clouds." She smiled. "Alright, let's go, Yakumo."

* * *

"You look happy today, Tenma." Eri said as the four of them walked down the school corridors en route to their class, 2-C. "Did something good happen to you on Sunday?"

"Oh…" Tenma said, grinning. "Nothing big."

The image of her and Karasuma together inside the dark room of a movie theatre continuously playing over and over again inside her head, stimulating her face to keep smiling all the time.

"She had a date with Karasuma yesterday." Akira said.

"Oh, yeah! You told us about it on Saturday, right?" Mikoto said enthusiastically. "But you didn't tell us where you guys want to go the day after. How was it, Tsukamoto? But from the look on your face, I bet everything went smoothly, right?"

"Judging from her face, it was more than smooth, apparently." Eri said teasingly, nudging Tenma on the rib. "In fact, I won't be surprised if yesterday they share a hug or even a kiss once or twice…"

Eri's words effectively made Tenma going 'Tuuuuutttt!' like a locomotive, smoke appearing from both side of her ears, her face went extremely red.

"Eeeeeh?" Mikoto said when looking at Tenma's extremely red face. "It's true? You guys finally kissed each other yesterday?"

"No, no, no!" Tenma waved her hands frantically. "No! We're not hugging, or kissing, or anything…, we just…"

"The two of you went to a new curry restaurant called The Curry Palace near here." Akira said, interrupting Tenma before she had a chance to finish her sentence. "And after that, went to a movie theatre, watching the new popular movie called 'The Adventure of When He Lost Love and Found It Again.'"

"That's right!" Tenma said, pointing at Akira. "The only things we do yesterday were only…, but wait, how can you know exactly the places we went during our date yesterday, Akira-chan?"

Eri shook her head slowly.

"It's better if you don't ask how Akira knows about things." she said. "It's much simpler that way."

"That's correct." Akira replied shortly.

"But Tsukamoto…" Mikoto joined the conversation. "When are you going to kiss him? You'd better hurry, you know: the faster the better! A silent boy like Karasuma generally likes it when the girls act aggressively, you know."

Mikoto laughed softly when she saw Tenma's face went extremely red all over again. It was always a fun thing to tease her, since she reacted so easily and many times over the top over these sorts of things.

"Don't tease her like that, Mikoto." Eri said, smiling. "I mean, even if they kissed each other yesterday passionately, you think Tenma would spill all the details for us?"

"Eri-chan! Miko-chan!" Tenma protested with her face still in the red. "Stop making fun of me!"

Eri and Mikoto laughed together.

Finally, they arrived at the front of their class. As usual, there were all sorts of noises coming from behind the door, signifying that a lot of their classmates had arrived before they do.

But really, generally 2-C was always this noisy.

Eri opened the door.

…

And there it was, the usual sight of 2-C: the boys crumpled down together discussing something undoubtedly not important, the girls animatedly chatting with each other, Hanai was busy reprimanding some guys playing throw-balls inside the class (not that they care anyway), Imadori playing with his cell phone as usual, Asou was busy talking with Suga about basketball, and Harima leaning back on his chair doing… well, staring at the ceiling, it seems.

Only a few of their classmates haven't arrived yet, but the usual guys and gals were already here—except maybe for Karasuma, who was nowhere yet to be seen inside the class.

…

Eri and the others walked to their seats, while occasionally tilting their heads here and there to avoid paper-planes flying all over the class.

"Oh, I want to talk to Harima-kun about something." Tenma said all of the sudden, rushing to her seat that was located directly in front of Karasuma and right next to Harima.

…

"I wonder what it is that he wanted to talk to Hige about." Eri said, watching Tenma putting down her bag besides her chair and greeting Harima. "Do you think it's got something to do with the reason why she looked so happy today?"

"No idea." Mikoto answered. "But you know Tsukamoto. She's always happy and energetic like that every day."

"Yeah, but it's a bit different today." Eri said thoughtfully. "She seemed a lot happier than usual. I wonder what happened during her date with Karasuma-kun yesterday. From the way she speaks to Hige right now, I suspect that it's got something to do with him." She squint her eyes, watching Tenma chatting animatedly with Harima.

"Don't worry." Akira said as she put down her bag. "Whatever it is, it won't jeopardize your chance on getting along with _him_."

"And _what do you mean by that_?" Eri retorted quickly, her face went a little pink.

…

……

"So, like that!" Tenma said enthusiastically. "The movie was really good, Harima-kun."

"Oh, that's nice." Harima said, forcing a smile.

…_Gah_.

Imagining Tenma-chan and the weird turtle-head guy sitting together side by side inside a dark room of a movie theatre, watching a _romantic movie_, somehow made Harima's inside squirming uncomfortably; like he was being poisoned or something. If possible, he wanted to entirely avoid talking about yesterday, but since it was Tenma who initiated the conversation, he couldn't really do anything about it.

…

"Yeah… and…" Tenma said slowly. She held her breath for a while.

"Thanks, for yesterday." she said, smiling earnestly. "For the time when you waited for me and Karasuma-kun watching the movie. It was… a very nice thing to do."

-Tuck!-

Something clicked inside Harima's heart. He gazed at Tenma.

…

……

INFLATED!

Harima's heart suddenly INFLATED all over to the roof, to the sky, to the stars, and beyond!

This morning he didn't feel so well because his entire plan of becoming a gentleman during the double-date yesterday failed miserably. After all of those horrible stuffs: death-defying curry, queuing in a very long line filled with horny couples, and a movie theatre's staff who put a lot more importance on their boss' birthday than to their customers, he felt like he achieved nothing.

He felt like he failed to show his good points in front of Tenma, that Tenma didn't able to see what kind of gentleman he was compared to Karasuma, who did nothing yesterday but to eat curry, eat popcorn, and nods here and there occasionally..

But lo and behold!

At this seemingly unexpected turn of events, it appeared like his finer points finally reached the heart of his beloved after all! It seemed that Tenma-chan finally realized what kind of person this sunglasses friend of her really was!

…

"Really." Tenma said. "Thank you."

"…No problem." Harima said casually, trying to bottle down his excitement. "It was a man's job to do things like that."

"Indeed." Tenma nodded approvingly. "I must say that I am glad, though…"

"For what?" Harima asked.

"Well…" Tenma said thoughtfully while smiling. "I am glad that the person my little sister fell in love with is a nice person like you, Harima-kun."

…

……

DEFLATED!

…DEFLATED!

…

"Don't forget to always be good to her, alright!" Tenma said happily, patting Harima's shoulder. "Always be a good boyfriend for her, ok? and…, oh, Karasuma-kun's finally here!"

And just like that, with the appearance of Karasuma, Tenma's attention diverted totally from Harima and everything else to Karasuma.

"Good morning, Karasuma-kun!" Tenma said happily. "How are you today?"

"Good morning, Tsukamoto-san." Karasuma replied. "I am fine, thank you. And how are you today?"

"I am fine, I am fine!" Tenma exclaimed excitedly. Talking to Karasuma always managed to improve Tenma's mood by two hundred percents, making her even happier than her usual happy self.

"So, about the movie yesterday…"

And Tenma continued to chat happily with Karasuma, right next to the now deflated Harima.

…

_Ah_, _well_, he thought to himself, trying to lift his spirit up. _Although Tenma_-_chan still misunderstands my relationship with Imouto_-_san_, _at the very least she already recognized my finer points as a man_…

_That_'_s a start_, _that_'_s a start_.

_And after every start_, _there will always be a finish line_. _I'll be sure to run at first position by the time I cross it_! _Or my name isn_'_t Harima Kenji_!

…

With this positive thought plus the fact that Tenma actually praised him just before, Harima's mood managed to stay at the positive side. Actually, by imagining him carrying Tenma throughout the finish line, saying "HAH!" while pointing his finger at the defeated Karasuma under the victory podium, Harima somehow managed to grin like an idiot.

Once he's inside his own happy-happy-fantasy-land, nothing could disturb him. Not even the eyes of a certain blonde pig-tailed girl.

…

"Look at him." Eri said from her seat, peeking at the apparently grinning-for-no-reason-whatsoever Harima. "Now he's now grinning like an idiot. I wonder if there is another person in this world capable of looking like an idiot like that."

"You seem to be very attentive of him." Akira said out of the blue, without even moving her eyes from the book she's reading right now. "Paying attention for Harima's every little detail, aren't you? Very observant."

Eri's face went extremely red yet again, and she quickly averted her eyes from Harima to her desk, pretending to write something down on her book. She didn't say anything, because she knew that arguing with Akira was something that every sane person in this world just wouldn't, _wouldn_'_t_, do.

Akira was a nice person for a friend, but sometimes there are just some things that you just _couldn_'_t _do in front of her, for fear of the consequences.

The formidable Takano Akira.

* * *

The next lesson after Mathematics was Art, taught by the beautiful and famous-amongst-boys second only to Itoko-sensei: Sasakura Youko-sensei. All of the students were already ready with their art tools, and Youko herself was standing in front of the class.

Everything seemed to be normal, but actually it wasn't.

If you looked carefully, there was this tense atmosphere hanging in the air inside the class room. Everybody was holding their art tools, ready to draw some pictures, but none of them were actually doing so.

Instead, they were staring at Youko, now standing in front of the class, smiling.

…

……

"…Sensei…" one of the boys sitting in the front raised his hand. "Uh…"

"Yes?" Youko replied, smiling.

"Uh…" said the boy. "Could you repeat what you just said to us before? Uh, I think we all need to listen to it once more to make sure that we're not mistaken or something."

"Of course." Youko said softly. "Now, listen carefully to what I am about to say, because I won't say it for the third time, ok?"

Nobody in the class spoke, not even one whisper could be heard. For this to happen to the usually nosy 2-C students, something major, and something awestruck-worthy must have happened to them.

…

"Now." Youko continued with her usual gentle voice. "Instead of drawing some paintings like you usually do in my class, this time we're all going to do something different; something unusual; something marvellous; with an exciting reward other than just good grades for those able to do it satisfactory."

All of the students watched her intently.

"…For your art assignment today…" Youko said, holding her breath a little. "All of you are going to _make a movie_."

Right after Youko said her words, buzz immediately filled the room, with students talking and whispering to each other. Even the ones who usually didn't pay any attention, such as Imadori and Harima, were staring at Youko, their face looked interested.

"Usually, when people talk about _art_…" Youko said, with her voice a bit raised, "They think about drawings, or paintings, or something similar to that. But, of course, you could find art not only on drawings and paintings exclusively." She held her breath for a while before continuing, "That is because it is in our nature that we like beautiful things. It is in our nature that we prefer something that is beautiful that something that is not. Since art is a way of…, shall we say, _make things beautifully_, we can't help ourselves if we, during our course of life, are using _art_ in how we handle things, in how we perceive the world, whether we do it intentionally or not."

Tenma went 'aaaaa' when hearing Youko's speech; Harima had this 'Yeah that's right' look on his face although his mind was also a bit loss; Hanai was busy scribbling each and every Youko's words; and Akira stealthily took some of her classmates silly dazzled face thanks to Youko's words with her useful pocket camera.

…

"That is why I want you to express the sense of art inside each and every one of you in a different form other than drawings and pictures." Youko continued. "I want to see how your sense of art can direct you to instil that _beautifulness _in something that you usually don't do in my regular art class. By doing this you might be able to broaden your art instinct so that it would not be used only in drawings and pictures you usually do in my class, but also on how you wear your dress, on how you write your book, on how you talk to others—on how you live your life."

…

Seeing the faces of 2-C's students right now, you could tell that they were all confused on how to best interpret Youko's words. Her words were probably too _artsy_ for their untrained art senses to understand. Even the smarter ones such as Hanai or Mai were seemingly puzzled by her words. Of course, you couldn't count people like Harima who tried to act all dignified by pretending they understand while in reality they were the ones who probably the most confused among others.

None of them raised any questions, however. Maybe they were all too confused to ask one.

…

Youko continued her explanation.

"Coincidentally…" she smiled. "I have a friend in Touto TV searching for new ideas for a new movie aimed for teenagers. The top brass of Touto TV has decided that they need an image change for their company—so the new movie will be used as a promotional tool to build a new image campaign that Touto TV is a station…, ah, how should I say this…"

She stopped for a moment.

"…That Touto TV is a station…"

"_Funky_!" one of the students interjected, and the class immediately roared with laughter.

Youko smiled again.

"Yes." she said. "That Touto TV is a station _f-u-n-k-y_ enough for teenagers to watch. Now, my friend is usually a capable person for creating good, classy, and entertaining movies, but when dealing with the world of teenagers and the like, her usual brilliant mind becomes…, let's just say, dysfunctional…"

…

"…that's probably because of her age or something…" Youko mumbled quietly, but she quickly continued before any of the students caught what she was mumbling about, "So, my friend, knowing that I am a high-school teacher whose daily activities were to deal with teenagers, asking me for a help. Thus, I came up with this idea: how if I ask my teenagers students to make a movie about the kind of show they would like to watch on television, and then I give it to you so that you have an idea about the kind of show you'd like to make?"

Youko smiled.

"My friend was very enthusiastic about this idea." she said. "Not only that, but she went as far as to offer me this option: those whose movie she pick will be well compensated, and the movie itself along with all of the crews will be given the opportunity to appear national on Touto Television."

"Wooooooaahhh!"

"…AWESOME!"

"That's fantastic!"

Cries of excitement quickly filled the air. Excited expression filled each and every student's faces. Even the usually stoic Karasuma seemed a bit intrigued by Youko's explanation—after all, who didn't want to have a little bit of fame by appearing on a _national _TV, even if its only for one brief moment? The 'compensation' Youko spoke of wasn't that bad sounding either.

All 2-C's students were now busy chatting with each other, clearly very enthusiastic about Youko's offer. Tenma was chatting animatedly with her three friends, Harima was busy picking stories from one of his mangas in his mind that would probably suit the task, Imadori was immediately busy scribbling down his ideas—which centred on the word D, no doubt—on a piece of paper, and the rest of the class members were engulfed in the same excitement as well.

Seeing the students filled with vigour like that, Youko couldn't help but to smile.

…

"Now, now!" she clapped her hands. "Students, I have something more to say, Would you be quiet for a while, please?"

The buzz dwindled down fairly quickly. It was not too long before all eyes in the room were focusing on Youko once again.

"Thank you." Youko said softly. "Now, it would seem unfair if I offer this opportunity only to 2-C, which is why I am also offering it to the other class as well, such as 2-A, 2-B, and 2-D. This offer is also legitimate for all of your underclassmen and all of your upperclassmen as well. The principle has agreed with this, so there is no problem regarding this matter."

Youko coughed a little, before continuing,

…

"What I am about to say is that seeing that the _whole school_ is participating on this thing," she said. "And as such, if this task is to be delegated to individuals, the amount of movies produced will be too enormous for me and my friend to judge and handle. That is why we've decided that this will become a _group_ task. Each class can only proposed a maximum number of _five_ movies. Since there are 35 people per class, including yours, I want you to divide yourself into 5 groups with 7 members each."

The buzz went up again after Youko said that. Each and everyone of the student started to look at each other to find the right person to be together in the same group with.

Youko clapped her hands again, a bit harder this time.

"I also wanted to say that this project will be considered as one of the art class projects." she said. "So even if you don't win, I will still grade your work accordingly and it will contribute heavily to your final mark for my subject. So I expect all of you to work as hard as you can for this project."

"Sensei!" Mai raised her hand. "When is the deadline?"

"Three weeks from now." Youko answered. "And since I know making movies will require a lot of time and effort, during those three weeks from now there will be no art lesson from me. When creating your movies, you may use whatever resources necessary—be resourceful. Of course, you may ask for help from other people outside of your group too."

"Will there be a specific requirement for what theme we have to use for our movies?" Tsugumi asked. "Or we may choose the theme as we see fit?"

"You are free to choose whatever theme you might think best suits this task." Youko answered. "Just remember, whatever movies all of you are going to make, they must be connected to the world of young, spirited men and women like each and everyone of you." Youko smiled. "The world of teenagers."

"Ooooohhh…" the students replied almost unanimously.

Youko stared at her students for a moment.

They were now so busy talking with each other, searching for team mates or busy finding the perfect concept for their idea of a movie.

She couldn't really tell what it was, but there was this, joyous and wonderful feeling when her eyes stared at the enthusiasm showed by her students. In her heart, she was glad to know that that enthusiasm rose thanks to something that she induced, something she offered to them. It was always a pleasant thing to see that something that came from your own mind was appreciated and greeted with such spirit.

"Well, good luck." she said.

* * *

Tenma's team has been assembled.

Naturally, the first four members were: Tsukamoto Tenma herself, Suou Mikoto, Sawachika Eri, and Takano Akira.

The other three were selected each after a relatively heated debate between the first four founding members.

The first amongst the three: Harima Kenji. This name was proposed by Tenma, and the candidate himself was very enthusiastic about joining the group. Suou Mikoto and Takano Akira were fine with the proposal, but Sawachika Eri hesitated. The reason? Something along the line of "He will be of no use." and "He's got zero percent of camera face." and "A face like that is a camera's greatest enemy." Now, reasons like those undoubtedly arouse suspicion because, well, let's face it: the reasons were utterly ridiculous. There must be another, hidden, true reason behind Eri's refusal—the true intention behind her hesitation.

Unfortunately, Eri wouldn't reveal those true reason, and kept on insisting that those ridiculous reasons were the _real _reasons why she refused Harima as a part of the group. It was as if she erected a huge wall around herself so that no one could penetrate her mind, to see the real truth behind her rejection.

…

……But unfortunately for Eri and fortunately for Harima, no walls were high enough for the fearsome powers that belong to a fearsome girl called Takano Akira. Harima was ready to initiate yet another battle with Eri in order for him to be allowed joining Tenma's group, but what Akira did to change Eri's mind so that she finally said 'fine' regarding Harima's inclusion to the group after she stubbornly refused, was something so simple, so unsophisticated, that the rest of the group were caught unaware by the sight of it.

Akira simply whispered something onto Eri's left ear. Eri's face went extremely red. Then when Akira asked Eri whether she would allow Harima to join the team, she said nothing but to nod, signifying a 'yes, he may join'.

Harima was too happy to wonder what it was that Akira whispered to Eri, and when Tenma and Mikoto enquired Akira about it, she simply raised her hand and said, "Let's just leave it at that." Eri certainly wouldn't answer the question; she was too busy blushing furiously for reasons unknown.

…

So, let's just leave it at that.

……

The second amongst the three: Imadori Kyousuke.

This candidate was even more controversial than the previous one, because instead of one, now there were _two_ founding members disagreeing with the appointment—which, by the way, was made by the candidate himself when he walked to Mikoto and said confidently, "Miko-chin! Of course I'll be on your team!"

The first one to disagree with Imadori's self-appointment to the group, of course, was Suou Mikoto herself. The reason behind her refusal had something to do with Imadori kept on flaunting the word 'D' around Mikoto and her immediate response by punching him squarely at his face.

"A guy like that wouldn't be able to focus!" Mikoto said sternly, while Imadori still flying above the clouds thanks to her super-human punch. "The best he could do if I we allow him to join our team is to think a bunch of ultra-pervert movie scripts, or generally just annoy us!"

The second among the founding members disagreeing with Imadori's appointment was the supposedly chairman……, or maybe we should say, the chair_lady_: Tsukamoto Tenma herself. The reason? Not because she disliked Imadori or anything, and not because she felt annoyed by his presence or anything—but more to the fact that according to her, Imadori's place on the team could be used instead to make a space for another, more appropriate person. Tenma's definition of a 'more appropriate person'? Well: a flat face, likes turtle, likes spacing out, likes curry, plays guitar, and seemingly had an obsession with windows or something. The person must also be the very owner of the name Ka-ra-su-ma Oo-ji.

Mikoto approved this idea, thinking that _anyone_ would make a better member compared to Imadori, and both Eri and Akira had no objections either. The only one objected with Karasuma's appointment was Harima, but since he was not among the founding members of the team, he didn't have the right to vote.

…

Unfortunately, however, when Tenma asked Karasuma to join her team, he immediately raised his hand and said: "I am sorry, Tsukamoto-san. I've already joined Yuuki-san's group, along with Fuyuki-san, Ichijou-san, Tagano-san, Mihara-san, and Ootsuka-san."

Tenma was very disappointed with this, thinking that if only she invited him sooner then she could make him join. But it was already in the past, and Tenma couldn't do anything about it.

With a disappointed face, Tenma returned to her friends to report that her effort to ask Karasuma to join has failed (much to Harima's relief). By this exact moment, the unbeatable Imadori crept up back to them and shamelessly self-proposed himself _again _as one of Tenma's group members. With Karasuma out of the picture, Tenma had no other reason to object to Imadori's appointment, and with Eri and Akira had come to a mutual agreement that watching Mikoto struggling with Imadori during the next three weeks could be _fun_, Mikoto didn't have much choice but to accept Imadori as one of their members.

"Yay!" he said excitedly. "I've already thought about a script—this is it!" He flaunted a piece of paper, which Mikoto immediately took, and threw out from the window, not bothering to see what was written on it.

"Aaaah! My masterpiece!" Imadori stared at his so-called script helplessly being thrown away by the wind to the horizon.

…

……

The last member for their team was none other than the class president himself, Hanai Haruki—the indomitable man with unquenchable spirit for justice and righteousness. Despite his annoying tendency to nag people around for every little thing, no one could ever doubt that Hanai was a resourceful and hard-working person. He was certainly an ideal candidate for a team-mate, most particularly when dealing with such a difficult project like making a movie for a national television.

He was accepted as the last member of Tenma's group, but his acceptance didn't come as easy as getting a candy from a baby. Being popular as a highly dependable person amongst its classmates, a person capable of multi-tasking with high efficiency, Hanai was invited to join not only by Tenma's group, but also by the other groups as well. If one should describe the situation using economic terms, he was in a very high demand.

At first he was confused as to which team's offer he should accept.

But his confusion didn't last long, because unfortunately for the other teams except Tenma's, they didn't have the formidable Takano Akira amongst their members. As the other teams worked as hard as they could to persuade Hanai to join their team, the only thing Akira did was to _whisper_ something into his ear.

No one knew what it was that Akira whispered to Hanai—but whatever it was, her seemingly simple yet mysterious action was effective. Immediately after that, he announced to the class that regrettably he must refuse their invitations to join their group because—as he said, "My heart belongs only to Tsukamoto-kun's group!", much to the dismay of Harima.

"What did you say to him?" Mikoto asked Akira curiously as to how Akira could easily persuade Hanai to join their team when the other teams couldn't. "What was it that you're whispering to him?"

"Nothing much." Akira said shortly. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Ye…yeah." Eri added quickly. "Let's not talk about that anymore."

Clearly, she didn't want to talk about Akira's whisper to Hanai for fear that the conversation might prolong into Akira's whisper to her. Whatever it was that Akira's whispering, Eri clearly didn't want anyone to know.

…

So, Tenma's team finally has been assembled. The members were: Tsukamoto Tenma, Suou Mikoto, Sawachika Eri, Takano Akira, Harima Kenji, Hanai Haruki, and Imadori Kyousuke.

As to what kind of movie later this team would produce, only time could tell.

* * *

Tenma's team assembled themselves inside the school library, discussing this and that about Sasakura-sensei's movie project.

…

"Well, before we dive in into scripts and scenarios about our movie, first thing first: we need to think about how to acquire the proper equipments we will need in order to make a movie." Mikoto said. "The most important thing is: the camera. I don't have it, how about you guys?"

"You know that I don't have any, Suou." Hanai answered. "How about the rest of you?"

"I don't have one." Harima added.

"And so am I." Imadori said.

"A video camera is too expensive for me and Yakumo…" Tenma said slowly. "So no, I don't have one."

"How about you, Sawachika?" Mikoto turned her eyes to Eri.

"I have one." Eri answered, while twiddling a pencil on her left hand. "But it's only an ordinary video camera—the one you usually use in birthday party and such. Do you think that would be enough?"

"I think that's enough." Hanai nodded his head. "A video camera like that is used by many beginners when they want to make a movie. I think Sasakura-sensei wouldn't mind if we use equipment like that. We _are_ beginners to this sort of thing."

"Well…" Eri contemplated. She tapped her pencil repeatedly on the table. "That might be true, but I really think instead of using a video camera like that, we ought to use real camera like the one they used during real movie-making."

"It's hard to find one if you don't have any connections." Mikoto replied. "I think Hanai is right; the usual video camera is enough for this project."

"I agree." this time Imadori spoke. It was one of those very rare occasions where he might be serious for a change. "Besides, we only have three weeks to do this, and who knows for how long before we can get our hands to that sort of equipment, Sawachika-san."

"Yeah." Harima added. "I don't want to be hassled by _unnecessary_ thing like that. Let's just focus on the script and then we can start filming immediately."

Eri quickly cast one of her trademarked you-shut-up look to Harima.

"Look." she said stubbornly. "The whole school is going to participate in this event. That means a _lot_ of contestants, and a _lot_ of competition. If we don't do this thing with the best means available, chances are someone out there will beat us at this event. Now, I don't know about _you_, but in every competition I'm in, I always strive for one goal only, and that goal is to _win_."

"_Wow_!" Tenma said to herself as she stared at Eri. "_Eri_-_chan is so cool_!"

"Listen." Eri spoke again, ignoring the fact that Harima glared over her. "Just give me three…, no…, two days, max, to get us a proper camera for our movie. During that time the rest of you can discuss other important things such as the script, the players, the costumes, whatever. I promise you guys that I _will_ get us that camera."

The way Eri spoke clearly indicates that she wouldn't want to change her opinion over this. Some might say that the thing she's arguing right now was trivial, but nothing was trivial for Sawachika Eri if she already set her eyes to a goal.

…

Mikoto sighed.

She should have known that Eri wouldn't change her mind, no matter what. If being friends with Eri for all this time taught her something, that must be how she was a very competitive person and her attitude was that of a very strong-willed girl.

"Fine." Mikoto said. "We leave finding a good camera for our project to you."

"Don't worry about it!" Tenma added cheerfully. "If it's Eri-chan, there is no doubt that she will get us the _best_ camera ever!"

"Thank you, Tenma." Eri smiled.

…

"Actually," suddenly Akira spoke; making the rest of the team members turned their attention to her. "Eri, you don't have to look for the camera. I got one."

This sudden announcement put a big 'Surprise!' sign at everybody's face.

…

"Really?" Mikoto asked Akira. "You got one?"

"Yes." Akira replied.

"A _real _camera?" Mikoto asked again. "Not the typical birthday video camera?"

"Yes." Akira said again.

"From where?" this time Tenma asked the question.

"I've got connections." Akira answered shortly.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Eri demanded, pointing her index finger at Akira.

"Because nobody asked me." Akira answered again.

…

Mikoto and Eri both slapped their forehead nearly at the same exact moment, while Tenma was giggling a little.

…

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Hanai said enthusiastically. "That means we don't have to worry about the camera anymore, since Takano-san can provide us with one. We can now progress to other, important things."

"Yes, yes…" Mikoto sighed. If being friends with Akira all this time taught her something, it was that Akira was a very unpredictable person. It seemed that she's always capable of surprising anyone by performing more and more feats unlike what you could expect from her.

Moreover, to save some serious headache, most of the time it was the best thing to do to just skip asking why Akira did this and did that. Just accept it, because life was certainly much easier that way.

…

……

"So, the next thing we need to do is to think about…"

"The script!" Tenma cut through Mikoto's words enthusiastically.

"…Yes, the script." Mikoto nodded her head. "Anyone got any good ideas?"

"Why doesn't each of our members contribute one script?" Tenma suggested. "Then we choose the best one among those contributed to be used for the movie!"

"Ooooh, nice idea there, Tenma-chan!" Imadori applauded.

If not for the fact that he was surrounded by six other people, one of them being his beloved, Harima would have already punched Imadori's face out to the moon. How dare he call Tenma with such a friendly manner!

Only _I_ am allowed to call her Tenma-_chan_!

…

"But before that, first I think we should decide on a specific theme." this time Harima spoke out. He felt he needed to talk; otherwise his presence in the team wouldn't let off too much of an impact. In front of Tenma-chan, as much impact as possible was certainly needed.

"A specific theme?" Imadori asked. Unlike Harima, he didn't seem to be bothered by having a less than significant impact on the team.

"Yes." Harima nodded. "We first must establish a specific theme that would act as some sort of borderline as to what kind of scripts we should take for our movie. I mean, each and every one of us may contribute our own script for the movie, but the story of the script itself must not stray outside the specific theme we agreed with."

Harima coughed a little.

"So since there are 7 members of this group, there will be at least 7 scripts for our movie." he continued. "Each member proposes one script, then we choose the best among those 7, and that's the script we will use for our movie."

"Harima!" Hanai said boldly to Harima. "That's a good idea that is so rare coming from you!"

"Naah." Harima said modestly. "It's basically Ten…, Tsukamoto's idea, I just add to it a little bit."

Tenma flashed that irresistibly cute smile to Harima, and being the receiver of Tenma's cute smile, Harima at the time felt difficult to keep himself composed and calm.

_Damn it_! he thought. _Stop smiling at me Tenma_-_chan_, _otherwise I might explode_!

…

"Yes…" Mikoto added thoughtfully. "It IS a good idea, though. So, everyone, what kind of theme do you think we should take? Remember, it must be related somehow to the world of teenagers!"

"There's only one thing suitable for that!" Imadori exclaimed, with his usual over dramatization, as if he was to read some work of Shakespeare or something, "The _only_ thing suitable for our movie!"

"And what is that?" Mikoto asked sceptically. You just couldn't expect to hear ideas coming out from Imadori's mouth and not feeling sceptical about it. In fact, Mikoto already readied her patented Smack-that-fool punch in case Imadori would say something stupid that is so typical of him.

"L-----ove, of course!" Imadori answered dramatically, opening both of his arms wide open. "What kind of teenage movie doesn't have l----ove at the centre of its story?"

Mikoto retracted her readied punch.

"Hey." Eri contemplated. "That's a good idea. Basic, yes, but logical."

"But all the others most probably are thinking the same thing." Akira commented. "That they should make a movie about love for this project."

"All the better!" Eri said pompously. "Let's us show them that although we and them are thinking the same thing, we could come up with a much better movie than them!"

"I agree! I agree!" Tenma raised her hand, the antennas on her head flipping up and down excitedly. "I think _love_ is a very good subject for a teenage movie!"

"I agree wholeheartedly." Harima jumped into the fray. Of course, besides the fact that he would just agree with everything Tenma's agreeing with, he also felt that the theme 'love' was very suitable for a movie aimed at teenagers.

Not only that……, if he could somehow make himself to become the main actor of the movie with Tenma as the main actress…

…

Harima suddenly grinned like an idiot.

"I agree!" Hanai said approvingly. "Love is certainly the best theme ever! Imagine me and Yaku…"

"So, love, is it?" Mikoto cut through Hanai's words before he could drabble endlessly all day long about him and Yakumo. "Ok, fine. So that means, each and every one of us must come up with at least a script which story centred on love, is that it?"

"Why don't we pick up an already established story instead of making a new one?" Akira suggested. "It's much simpler that way."

"I disagree!" Harima quickly stepped in to decline Akira's suggestion. "We should come up with our own original idea for our movie—that's how we can show Sasakura-sensei our own full capabilities!"

"That's right, Harima-kun!" Tenma pointed her finger at Harima. "I totally agree with you!"

Harima grinned again like an idiot, while Akira just shrugged her shoulders.

…

Eri peeked at Harima for a split second.

_Heh_, she said to herself. _Even though he is an idiot_, _there are times when he can be serious like that_. _That_'_s good_……

…

"It's my idea, it's my idea!" Imadori babbled. "Of course we will use it!"

"But making a good script is not something that can be done easily in one or two days." Mikoto said thoughtfully. "I think we should take a break for at least…, three days, tops, when each of us thinks of something good for the script. Then, three days later we pick the best script and use the rest of the time to focus making a movie based on that."

"Yeah, I agree." Eri said. "Because we don't have to worry about the camera anymore, I guess we could spare a bit of time for that, since script is a very important thing for a movie to be good."

The supposedly leader of "Tenma's Team", and the main character on this story, Tsukamoto Tenma, nodded in agreement.

"Yeah!" she said. "Three days!"

"I will create the best script in the world in the next three days!" Hanai said proudly while pounding his own chest.

"Love-love script, yeah!" Imadori exclaimed happily.

"Fine with me." Harima added.

_I need time anyway to create a good script where me and Tenma_-_chan could become the main actor and actresses_, he said to himself. _Perhaps I could use one of my manga stories_, _adjusting here and there to add a little spice_.

…

"Okay, then, this meeting is adjourned until the next three days!" Mikoto picked a nearby book and slam it softly on the table three times, pretending the book was a hammer of a judge or something. "Be sure to come up with nice script, guys!"

* * *

-**Tsukamoto Tenma**-

-_Three days before the second meeting, the night after the Library meeting, in Tsukamoto's residence_-

"Nee-san." Yakumo said softly.

"What?" Tenma replied absent-mindedly.

"You are not eating your dinner." Yakumo pointed at Tenma's still-full plate. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Oh, sorry." Tenma put away a piece of paper and a pencil she's been holding to for the last two hours. "I am trying to think of something."

She picked her spoon and start eating her food.

"Thinking of something?" Yakumo said questioningly. "What about?"

"Aaaah…" Tenma said, chewing her food deliberately. Yakumo's food was one of those foods that you couldn't just swallow quickly—you have to savour each and every bite to truly appreciate their taste. "It's about Sasakura's-sensei movie project. You know it, right?"

"Oh, that…" Yakumo said. "Yes, she offered it to my class too. In fact, the whole school is participating, right?"

"Yup." Tenma nodded her head. "Well, I am busy thinking of a good script to use."

"You are the script-writer for your group?" Yakumo said, a bit surprised.

"No, no, no." Tenma shook her head. "It's just that my team had this idea that each of our member must come up with a script. Three days later, the scripts are collected and we choose which one is the best, then we use that script. You see, we are trying to be original."

"Oh, I see." Yakumo said understandingly. "That's a good idea."

She had finished her dinner. Unlike Tenma, Yakumo usually didn't take too much food for her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and therefore she usually finished them much quicker than her sister.

She picked her cup, drinking the warm tea.

"What about you, Yakumo?" Tenma asked. "Aren't you participating?"

"Everyone in our class is participating." Yakumo answered. "But we have two people in our team coming from the theatre club. We entrust our script to them, so I don't have to worry about it, Nee-san."

"Is that so…" Tenma said.

She sighed. She didn't continue eating her food.

It only took Yakumo a split second to realize that her sister was troubled over something.

"What's wrong, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked worriedly.

"Nothing…" Tenma said as she stared at the still empty piece of paper and pencil she put away before. "It's just I know that the likes of Eri-chan or Akira-chan would come up with something magnificent for our script. Most probably one of their scripts is the one that we use for our movie later."

Yakumo didn't say anything. She waited for her sister to finish her sentence.

"But I would _love_ it if my script is the one we will use for our movie." Tenma scratched her head. "But I know that I couldn't come up with something better than Eri or Akira-chan. I couldn't even come up with something that is as good as theirs."

Yakumo put her cup down.

…

"It's not like you to give up so easily, Nee-san." Yakumo said softly. "I am sure if you try hard enough, you'd be able to make a very good script yourself. I believe it."

Tenma smiled.

…

"Thank you, as always, Yakumo." she said cheerfully. "Well, perhaps you can give a few ideas that I could use for my script?"

"What's the script must be about?" Yakumo asked, feeling glad that her sister had returned to her usual cheerful and spirited self.

"Love." Tenma answered. "Or something related to that."

Tenma's answer caught Yakumo off-guard a little.

…

_Love_? she said to herself.

Now this is one of those rare things that she's just not good at. She never fell in love with someone before, so she really was inexperienced with it.

She stared at her sister, who's staring at her expectantly.

"Love, eh…" Yakumo mumbled quietly. She must say something because she really wanted to help her sister on this thing—it's just that the subject was a bit difficult matter for her.

…

"Why don't you just write one of your experiences with Karasuma-kun, Nee-san?" Yakumo said the first thing that popped out in her mind. "I mean, nothing beats real-life experiences in the term of being realistic, right?"

Tenma contemplated this suggestion a bit.

…

"Nah." she finally said, shaking her head. "It's not that I don't think my experiences with Karasuma-kun were not interesting; it's just that I think it's going to be hard to make them into a movie script. I mean, I really like Karasuma-kun, but…"

She didn't finish her sentence, but Yakumo thought that she could understand the point her sister was trying to get across.

…_I guess its going to be hard to translate Karasuma-san_'_s character into a movie_…, she thought. _He rarely speaks_, _and he is a bit_…

Yakumo didn't want to use the word 'weird' to describe the person her sister fell in love with. Really, she didn't want to.

But she couldn't find any other appropriate word to describe a person who wore a kappa suit to his own school like it was a regular uniform or something…

…

…_Well_, _Karasuma_-_san is a bit_… _unique_…

Yakumo decided to settle with the word 'unique' instead.

…

"Maybe…" Yakumo said slowly. "Nee-san, you should…"

"Hey!" Tenma cut through Yakumo's words. "I know, Yakumo." she said excitedly. "Why don't _you_ tell me your experiences with Harima-kun! I know that I will be able to get many good ideas from it!"

…

Many times already her sister said something that made a part of Yakumo's brain went down for a while out from sheer surprise alone, and this time was definitely one of them.

…

"W…what?" Yakumo said slowly. "My… experiences with Harima-san?"

"Yeah!" Tenma nodded her head excitedly. "Since you both a couple, you must already have one or two lovey-dovey moments together with him, right? Who knows, maybe I can make a good movie script out from it!"

"Lovey…" Yakumo said. "…Dovey?"

"Yeah." Tenma readied her pencil and her paper. "Come on, Yakumo, tell me something nice. Don't be shy, don't be shy. You just said it before, that nothing beats real-life experiences, right?"

"Well, yes…" Yakumo answered. "But…" but not _her_ experiences.

"Come on, Yakumo." Tenma kept on pushing. "Just one or two."

…

Yakumo stared at her sister for a moment.

…She sighed a little.

It's very hard to ran out from her sister when she already kept insisting like this. Yakumo regretted already saying those stuff about real-life experiences. She should have known better that it would eventually lead to this…

But now she must think of something…

Something…

Then, all of the sudden, something clicked inside her mind.

A story she knew……, a story about one of her friends, being in love with someone who doesn't even know that he loved her.

A story about someone she knew…

Maybe she could add a little bit of this and that to the story, things she felt that the main character of the story would do, someday, given the chance.

…

"Nee-san." she said finally. "This is not my experience, but m…my friend's."

Tenma stared at Yakumo questioningly.

"Your friend?" she asked.

"Yes…" Yakumo answered. "I…, I don't have that many interesting experiences together with Harima-san…" She thought that it would be futile for her right now trying to tell her sister her true nature of relationship with Harima, to tell her that both of them didn't have any of those…, ah, lovey-dovey situation because they weren't a couple. "But I know a story about my friend that you might find interesting."

"A friend, eh?" Tenma stared at Yakumo for a moment.

"Yes…" Yakumo said. "…A friend."

…

Tenma smiled.

_Oh Yakumo_! _You_'_re such a shy girl_!, she thought to herself.

"Okay." Tenma said, smiling slyly. "Tell me the story of this…, _friend_, of yours."

"W…well…" Yakumo said slowly while her brain is working furiously in the background.

…

"This friend of mine loved someone." Yakumo said. "Someone from… _his_ own school."

"_His_?" Tenma asked as she scribbled down Yakumo's words onto her piece of paper. "This friend of yours is a guy?"

"Yes." Yakumo nodded softly.

"I see, I see." Tenma smiled suspiciously. "Carry on, carry on."

"Well…" Yakumo continued. "But he didn't have the courage to confess to her. Not only because he's a too shy to do it, it's also because the girl he loved already loved someone else."

"Ouch." Tenma said. "That must be hard."

"Yes, it's hard for my friend." Yakumo said. "But my friend is not the type of someone giving up easily. He already committed to himself that regardless of whatever the hurdles are, he _will_ confess his feelings to the one he loved, no matter what the cost."

"Such dedication." Tenma commented as she scribbled down Yakumo's explanation in short one-two sentences. "It's quite admirable."

Yakumo nodded approvingly.

"Yes…" she said slowly. "It's quite admirable…"

"So!" Tenma exclaimed. "Does this friend of yours finally get to confess to the one he loved?"

"Yes." Yakumo answered. "But he's doing it in his own, unique, way."

"How?" Tenma asked.

"Um…" Yakumo said. "This friend of mine was blessed with a gift of being able to draw pictures better than most people. It is because of this gift that his dream is to become one of the best manga artists out there."

"M-a-n-g-a a-r-t-i-s-t." Tenma noted on her paper. "Wait. Manga artist?" one of Tenma's eyebrows rose. "This isn't a story about _you_, Yakumo?"

"I've told you already, Nee-san." Yakumo said, she was staring at the table. "This…, is a story of my friend…"

_Aw_, _too bad_! Tenma thought to herself. _At first I think that Yakumo is too shy to tell her story so she_'_s trying to disguise herself in the story as _'_my friend_'. _I guess it_'_s really about her friend_ _and not about her_.

_Too bad_…

"Well then." Tenma said. "Continue, Yakumo."

"U…um… since he didn't have the courage to confess directly, my…, my friend has decided to confess using the manga he draws." Yakumo continued. "He will write down the fact that he loved that person inside the manga he created, and so if his manga is getting published, he hoped that the person he loved will be able to read it and then his feelings will reach her."

"That's beautiful." Tenma said slowly. "This friend of yours seemed like a really sincere person…"

"Indeed." Yakumo said softly. "Well, to cut things short, after working tirelessly for countless hours, he finally able to publish his manga to the public. The manga itself become famous. But no one seemed to realize that inside his work, there was a confession of his feelings for someone special, someone that he always loved from the bottom of his heart."

Yakumo felt a little pang in her heart as she said this—though she couldn't tell why.

She tried to ignore it, and continues,

"The thing is, this person he loved finally read his work." Yakumo said. "And somehow, just somehow, she knew that the person depicted in the manga, the person the main character in the manga confessed his feelings to, was indeed her."

"Ooooo…" Tenma said. "This is getting exciting."

"…The problem is…" Yakumo continued. "She didn't know that the person who drew the manga was actually one of the people close to her. She didn't know the true identity behind the manga artist, because he didn't use his name—he used a pen-name, a different name."

"So…" Tenma said. "Even though he finally confessed to her, and she saw the confession drawn in the manga, she still didn't know that it was him that confessed?"

"Yes." Yakumo answered shortly.

…

It seemed like for the moment Tenma was already being absorbed to Yakumo's story, completely forgotten that she wanted to write Yakumo's words onto her piece of paper.

…

"Yakumo…" Tenma said thoughtfully. "That is quite sad…, yes?"

Yakumo nodded slowly.

"Yes." Yakumo said.

"So…" Tenma suddenly remembered that she wasn't writing Yakumo's words down to her paper. Ah well, she could do it later. "What is the end of the story? Did the girl finally realize the true identity of your friend who confessed through the manga?"

…

"That…, Nee-san…" Yakumo said softly. "I didn't know."

Tenma was surprised to hear Yakumo's answer.

"You didn't know?" she said, bewildered. "How come?"

"I…It's because my friend suddenly had to move out from Japan." Yakumo blurted out the first thing she could think of. "Therefore, the story about his confession didn't actually have an ending to it… That's why, Nee-san."

Tenma slammed the table softly.

"Aw, that's just too bad!" she said regrettably. "I wish your friend would have stayed in Japan for a little while longer so that his confession didn't go to waste like that…"

Yakumo stared at her sister.

…

An intriguing question suddenly popped inside her head.

"Nee-san." she said. "Just think as if the story really did have an ending to it. What would you like to happen in the end?"

"Eh?"

"I mean," Yakumo added quickly. "Supposedly the girl finally found out that it was my friend who drew the manga and the confession inside it. What would you like to happen then?"

…

"Hmm…"

Tenma gave it a thought for a while.

…

Yakumo, who stared at her sister waiting for her answer, for some reason felt her heart thumping a little, her heart-beat moved a bit faster. Why? She couldn't really tell. She didn't understand why, but she felt a bit nervous waiting to hear the answer coming out from her sister's mouth.

…

"Well…" Tenma said finally. "First of all, I still think it's just too bad that your friend did not finish what he started. I really think that he should just wait for the girl to finally understand the situation before moving out from Japan."

Yakumo listened.

"Then…" Tenma continued. "Supposedly the girl finally found out about him behind the manga and the confession. Well, after listening to the story, I think that your friend is really sincere about his feelings for this girl and he tried very hard with his own way to channel those feelings to her. I think it was admirable, and because of that you could probably say that I prefer the happy ending where your friend finally had his feelings accepted by the girl and both of them lived happily ever after."

"Is that so…" Yakumo mumbled.

"But!" Tenma exclaimed.

"But?" Yakumo said.

…

"You said that the girl herself already has someone that she loved, right?" Tenma pointed out. "Well, no matter how I wanted your friend to be together with this girl, I really think that in the end the girl shouldn't accept his feelings before she could forget her own feelings about this someone she already loved."

"Ah…"

"Yes." Tenma nodded her head. "Because it would be unfair for your friend if she accepted his feelings before she sorted out her own feelings about the guy she loved. It seemed bitter to say this, but I really think that this girl should just reject your friend's feelings because she already loved someone else. Once a girl is in love with someone, she should pursue that feeling no matter what, right?"

"Yes…" Yakumo answered shortly. "I suppose…"

"And this girl in the story…" Tenma eyed her sister. "How's the progress between her and the guy she loved?"

"They…" Yakumo said. "They're getting along nicely…"

"See?" Tenma exclaimed. "Even if your friend didn't leave Japan, the better course for him was not to wait for this girl to forget her love for the other guy—which most probably just never would happen—but rather to find someone else that he could fall in love with! Am I right?"

Yakumo kept silent for a while, before nodding softly.

…"Yes…" she said. "I…I guess you are right, Nee-san."

"Of course I am!" Tenma said proudly. "I am an expert at this kind of thing!"

Yakumo smiled a little.

…

……

After the dinner, Yakumo was busy cleaning the table and washing the dishes, while Tenma furiously scribbled what Yakumo just told her on paper in the living room.

By the time Yakumo finished doing the chores and walked to the living room, it seemed like Tenma already had her draft for the script completed.

"This is it, Yakumo!" she said excitedly, flaunting five pieces of paper on her right hand to Yakumo. "This is the draft for my script, based on your story! I am not that good at writing, but even I am sure that I could create a nice script from the story you just told me."

She ran to Yakumo and hugged her.

"Thank you, Yakumo!" she said happily.

"You're welcome, Nee-san." Yakumo replied softly. It's been a very long while since her sister hugged her like this, that she couldn't help herself not to smile by the occasion.

It felt so comfortable for her being hugged by Tenma.

…

"Well!" Tenma broke the hug. "I'd better take this to my room and work on it!"

"Good luck, Nee-san." Yakumo said as she stared at her sister cheerfully walked to her room, carrying the draft with her while humming the theme song from the show "The Three Who Were Slashed."

…

Yakumo sat on the floor. Her eyes were staring at Iori who comfortably crumpled himself at the corner of the living room.

……

"The ending to the story…" she muttered quietly to herself. "I wish I could see the future so that I would be able to know it right now, right, Iori?"

* * *

**To Be Continued**


	4. Rumble 4

**SCHOOL RUMBLE: TWIST, TWIST, & TURN**

**By: Pizza Blade**

**PART FOUR**

**

* * *

**

-**Sawachika Eri**-

-_Three days before the second meeting, the night after the Library meeting, in her mansion_-

"Ojou-sama."

…

…"Ojou-sama."

……

……"Ojou-sama."

"A…ah, yes?"

It took some time for Nakamura to finally grab Eri's attention. It was a clear, starry night, and Eri was at one of her most favourite location on her house, the veranda on the second floor of her mansion.

It's always a nice thing to just sit and lay back at the veranda. The wind blew softly to her face, gently playing her beautiful blonde hair. The sky was so clear tonight—it was also filled with many, many stars, each and every one of them sparkled ever so beautifully that only by watching them you could feel the warm sensation squirming inside your chest.

…

But Nakamura was having difficulty calling Eri not because she was busy scanning the skies. Not because she immensely enjoyed the gentle blow of the night wind. And not because she was in the middle of quiet appreciation of how beautiful the night was.

It was because she was so focused at staring a blank piece of paper on the table in front of her, her right hand twiddling a pencil. Her face looked a bit frustrated.

"Yes, Nakamura?" she said, turning her attention to the butler. "I am sorry, I was deep in thought of something…"

"Yes, I can see that, Ojou-sama." Nakamura said politely, bowing himself a little. "But dinner is ready; I suggest you eat first, because the food will be cold in a short while."

"Ok, ok." Eri waved her hands—apparently she's not really listening to Nakamura's words because her eyes were still fixed at the empty piece of paper on the table. "I will go…, just wait for a moment…"

She scratched her head in frustration.

Nakamura stared at his young master for a while, before politely asked,

"Pardon me, Ojou-sama. But you seem to have a problem there."

"Yes." Eri answered vaguely. "Yes—I've never thought before that making a movie script is going to be this difficult."

"Movie script?" Nakamura asked.

Eri nodded her head.

"Yes." she said. "It's for a school project. An important one." She scratched her head again. "At first I thought it's not going to be hard to create a good one. But apparently I was wrong. I've already been sitting here for the last two hours but not a single idea appeared in my head…"

"I see." Nakamura said understandingly. "Inspiration is not something that you can learn, or something that you can forcibly take out from your mind. It comes when it comes."

"Perhaps." Eri replied. "Anyway, I am sorry to trouble you, Nakamura, but could you please bring my dinner here to me? I seem to be getting _something_ here, and I am afraid if I go now that _something_ might just disappear from my head."

"I understand." Nakamura bowed. "Of course, Ojou-sama. Just wait for a moment and I will bring your dinner here."

"Thank you."

With that, the head butler went off to get Eri's dinner, while Eri herself returned to her deep thought.

…

_I_'_ve never thought that making a script for a movie would be this difficult_, she said to herself. _I seem to be getting _'_something_', _yes_, _but it is very hard to actually translate that _'_something_'_ onto the paper_……

…

Love…

…Love……

The script must be about a story related to love…

…

What did she know about love?

……

Well, if one counted the times when she got those countless confessions by the boys at the school, then perhaps one could say that Eri was indeed a very experienced person at love.

But Eri refused to use that kind of thing for her story. To her, the countless confessions made by the boys to her were more something of a love at its most superficial level. That was not the kind of thing she wanted to use for her script.

She wanted her script to fully appreciate the truest aspect of love. She wanted her script to expose the deepest core of love itself. She wanted her script to be able to instil that same warm feeling when you stared at someone you truly loved.

…

Perhaps those kinds of goals were vague, silly, or even borderline ridiculous. But for the kind of person like Eri, they were just another way to say that she only wanted to strive for the best thing that she could, for everything that she did. That she only wanted to produce a good script at the best of her ability.

…

……

Eri leaned herself on the chair.

She looked up, staring at the dark but beautiful night sky bejewelled by sparkling light of the stars.

…

……

Her friends, especially Tenma, most probably wouldn't believe to the fact that Sawachika Eri was a person inexperienced in romantic love, or anything related to that. She gave advices to Tenma about that sort of thing, but ultimately…

…

Eri looked at the blank piece of paper.

She scratched her head once again in frustration.

…

"Ojou-sama."

"Woah!" Eri nearly jumped from her seat because all of the sudden Nakamura stood behind her without warning. "Nakamura! You surprised me!"

"I beg for your forgiveness, Ojou-sama." Nakamura said. "But I bring you your dinner right here."

Just like he said, he carried with him a plate filled with delicious-looking spaghetti on his right hand and a long glass filled with fresh-looking milk on his left hand.

Eri stared at them for a moment, before pointing at the table where the blank piece of paper was on.

"That was quick, Nakamura, thanks." she said, sighing a little. A little bit of delicious food and drink may help her brain to boost up a little. Hopefully she could get great new ideas for her script, then.

Nakamura gently put down the plate and the glass on the table. While he was doing it, his eyes (well, his right eye, actually, since his left eye was blanketed by a cover Pirates usually wear) stared at the still blank piece of paper.

…

"Still having some difficulties with the script, Ojou-sama?" he asked politely.

"Yes." Eri answered, sighing desperately. "I only have three days to complete this script—but I don't know if I could make it in just three days… I've never thought making a good movie script would be _this_ difficult…"

Nakamura stood silent for a while—he seemed contemplating something.

…

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, Ojou-sama." he said. "They all always say that two minds are greater than one. Maybe I can help you find this…inspiration…, that you lack at the moment."

Eri was a bit surprised by this sudden offer of help from Nakamura.

She stared at him for a while.

…

……

Normally, looking at his stature, Nakamura would most probably be the last person in this world someone would consult on the matters of love.

Objectively speaking, it was quite hard to imagine that a person with that kind of tough-looking appearances like him would be able to provide sound advices about how to make a good movie script with a story centred on love.

It was just not fit with his image.

…

……But then again, if you looked at it, normally someone could hardly imagine that a person with that look could actually be a professional head butler; someone who diligently carrying dinner for a girl; someone who drove around a limousine…

It seemed more fitting for him to become a mercenary, or something.

…So Eri decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

…

"Alright, then." she said slowly. "Because I am getting stuck here, I guess I could use a bit of help from someone." Although in reality she preferred to this thing alone rather than accepting help from someone, unfortunately her situation right now didn't warrant her that luxury.

"It would be my pleasure." Nakamura bowed himself once more. "So, what kind of movie script are we talking about here?"

"It's only for a school project, so nothing too fancy." Eri answered. "I mean, we're not talking about a movie script where you can put a scenario like the end of the world or something. Just real life events."

"I see." Nakamura said. "Does the script must adhere to a particular theme?"

"Yes." Eri nodded her head.

"What theme?" Nakamura asked.

"L…love." Eri answered, a bit awkward. It felt a bit strange for her to speak a word like love during a conversation with her head butler.

"I see." Nakamura said once again, nodding his head a little. "So the movie script must be centred on the theme _love_."

He put his index finger on his chin, while closing his eyes, apparently thinking.

"Yes." Eri said. "You can sit down first, you know, Nakamura." she pointed at the empty chair at the other side of the table.

"This is just fine, Ojou-sama." Nakamura replied humbly. "I think better when I am standing up like this. My blood circulation runs more smoothly from top to bottom, so my brain could perform better."

"…I see." Eri failed to see the logic behind his words, but she decided it would be better to just leave things as it is.

…

……

………

One.

Two…

Five……

Ten………

And finally fifteen minutes has passed with both of them still not talking.

Eri was staring to the blank piece of paper thinking for a start for her movie script, but to no avail. She appeared to be more frustrated than before.

Nakamura was still closing his eyes. It was a bit eerie, actually, how he could stand like that, completely not moving even for tiniest little bit. It was like he transformed himself into a statue or something, completely oblivious to the outside world.

…

"So, Nakamura…" Eri said slowly. "Thinking of anything yet?"

Nakamura opened his eyes.

"Yes." he said confidently. "If it's about love, that I have something in my mind that you may find interesting, Ojou-sama."

"Really?" Eri stared at him with one of her eyebrows raised. She seemed a bit surprised by his answer. "What kind of story?"

"A story filled with passion, with love, with blood and honour." Nakamura said sternly. "A story that I think would be able to move many hearts, many souls, and pushing them into a pool of unspeakable emotions."

"……"

'With blood and honour' seemed like pretty much out of the context here, but Eri didn't say anything. Perhaps it was just one of those weird things guys like to say in order to over-dramatize things up.

"Yes." Nakamura hardened the palms of his both hands, his eyes burning. "This is the story about the unbreakable love between me and fellow comrades back when we at war. The very times when bonds between myself and my team-mates were tested beyond its limits, and…"

"Hold it." Eri raised her hand, cutting through Nakamura before he had any chance to finish what he's about to say.

"What is it, Ojou-sama?" Nakamura stared enquiringly at Eri who at the exact moment slapped herself on her forehead and shaking her head.

"Don't tell me you are about to tell the stories when you were still at the army." Eri sighed softly. "I have no doubts in my mind that those stories must be interesting, but sorry, Nakamura, I said that nothing too fancy for my script here."

"There is nothing 'too fancy' about the brotherhood we men committed each other to during the times of war." Nakamura said plainly. "In fact, I think that brotherhood is simply the greatest form of love that I could ever imagine. And it was based on real-life events too, just as you requested, Ojou-sama."

"I should have been more specific, then." Eri said, quietly contemplating within herself the reasons why did she have to deal with……, ah…, _unique_…, people not only at school but also at her own house. "Although the theme of our movie project is indeed love, and I have no doubts whatsoever that those moments you shared with your friends during the war was… um…, filled with love…" Eri shivered a bit when she imagined the word 'love' being paired together with a bunch of tough-looking guys with scary faces like Nakamura, "…your kind of story are not the ones I'm looking for here. Our movie's target audience is teenagers, young people, so I _think_ that your story is a _bit_ out of context, Nakamura."

"I see." Nakamura nodded softly. "I apologize, Ojou-sama."

"Don't worry about it." Eri waved her hands.

She should have known better.

"So, the kind of 'love' you are looking for your script is the kind of love between a young man and a young woman." Nakamura said. "Is that correct?"

"Pretty much." Eri answered shortly.

Nakamura bowed himself once more.

"Then I must offer you an apology yet again, Ojou-sama." he said courteously. "I am afraid I am not experienced well enough about that kind of thing that my help could warrant a suitable enough contribution for your effort."

Eri sighed once more.

"That's okay, that's okay." she said. "It would be best for me to finish this thing by myself, anyway. Thank you for your help, Nakamura."

…

"…However." Nakamura continued. "It's true if I say that the time of my life when I could experience love like that has long since passed. But yours hasn't. In fact, I believe now is the exact time for you to experience this sort of thing, am I correct, Ojou-sama?"

"…What?" Eri replied.

"If you are having difficulty of finding an appropriate story for your script," Nakamura was still talking, "Why don't you base it upon one of your own experiences? You said that your target audience are young people, but since you are still young yourself, Ojou-sama, I think many of your experiences will fit properly for this subject."

"If only things were that easy, Nakamura," Eri said curtly. "I wouldn't have any problems for the past two hours."

"But Ojou-sama." Nakamura persisted, although he's still talking in a butler-ish kind of way. "Have you never been in love with someone before?"

…

……

That question caught Eri off-guard for a second.

…

Fall in love?

…_Her_?

……

A flash of someone's face suddenly made its way into Eri's mind; a flash that occurred without her thinking, a flash that was just there without her consent, a flash that sneaked its way smoothly into her mind without permission.

A flash that successfully made Eri's face went red.

…

"Have you never felt attracted to any men before, Ojou-sama?" Nakamura continued.

…

That flash grew stronger.

A flash of someone's face with that stupid face of his, with that stupid laugh of his, with that stupid attitude of his, with that stupid sunglassess of his…

…

"I…" Eri said awkwardly.

She looked at Nakamura, who was staring at her, and felt a surge of embarrassment rising inside her self.

This is not good.

She didn't like this side of her being shown to other people, even if the other people her own head-butler whom she had known for many years.

She waved her hands slowly, trying not to show off her emotions too much.

…

"Alright, I understand." she said. "T…thank you, Nakamura, for your insights. I think I have finally found something that I can use for my script."

"Are you sure, Ojou-sama?" Nakamura asked.

"Yes, yes." Eri said impatiently. "Thank you. You may go."

Nakamura bowed again.

"Well then." he said politely. "I am glad that I could be of some help. And don't forget to eat your dinner, Ojou-sama."

After that, Nakamura walked off from the veranda, leaving Eri deep in thought on her own.

…

She stared at the dinner Nakamura brought for her—they looked delicious, but her mind was too full with various things right now that she hardly had an appetite to eat them.

……

It's true that she never felt the same way about boys before the way she felt when she was around that stupid guy. Often, they banter, they argued, but that was not because she hated or disliked him or anything…

More like, it's just happened without her even thinking about it. The flow just seemed… _there_, between her and him every time they were together, without her even realizing it.

…

True, in front of him, she didn't have…, she didn't _need_ to act fake. In front of him, she didn't have to worry about how to preserve her image as a 'rich, gentle, princess.' In front of him, she could talk the way she wanted, act the way she wanted, and even _yell_ the way she wanted.

And there was the Sports Festival too…

A happy feeling, even if it's only for a fleeting moment…

…

But is it _love_?

Isn't it a bit too premature to call her feelings towards him _love_?

…

……

Eri stared at the blank paper once more, her hand twiddling the pencil faster then before.

…

After five minutes in silence, she decided to write something; something that was clinging inside her mind.

"…I _hate_ you, Hige." she said quietly, as she started to scribble words onto the paper.

* * *

-**Hanai Haruki & Suou Mikoto-**

**-**_Two days before the second meeting, in Hanai's dojo_-

Hanai quickly threw a fast flurry of punches towards Mikoto, but she gracefully dodged all of them. In retaliation, she ducked herself a little, spinning her feet with the intention of sweeping Hanai's feet in one fast swoop.

But Hanai was able to read her movements, and as Mikoto launched her counter, he easily jumped himself up to avoid it. Mikoto didn't stop right there, however. She quickly gained her composure and dashing forward into Hanai's range; then with amazing speed, she grabbed Hanai's Dougi and twisting it while at the same moment she tackled Hanai's feet.

Having attacked with such combination of movements, Hanai couldn't avoid them and couldn't keep his balance intact. It took only a matter of seconds before he was staring at Mikoto's face from the down the floor.

…

"You lose." Mikoto grinned.

"Bah." Hanai grumbled.

He quickly stood up.

"That makes it 40 wins for me." Mikoto pointed out at Hanai, still grinning widely. "And with your victory only at 30, I think it's safe to say that you still have a lot of work to do to catch up with me, Hanai."

"Thirty?" Hanai exclaimed loudly. "You are kidding! According to my memory, I've won about 40 times against you, and you've won about 40 times also! So we are even!"

Mikoto laughed softly.

"It's better if you don't trust your memory too much." she said slyly. "Because of many times your head hit the floor from my throw, maybe your memory isn't just as good as it used to be."

"Humph! My memory is still as good as ever!" Hanai replied bluntly—if there was one thing in the world that he didn't like the most, that one thing must have been being defeated in anything.

He pointed his finger at Mikoto.

"One more spar, Suou!" he said. "And this time we decide the _real _winner!"

"Nah." Mikoto waved her hand apologetically. "Sorry, Hanai, but I am a bit tired, today. We could always continue this at other time, anyway."

…

She walked towards the place she put her towel inside the dojo.

She grabbed the towel, and using it to wipe sweats on her face.

"Tired?" Hanai said as he was staring at Mikoto. "It's not usual for you to get tired, Mikoto. You are the strongest girl I've known."

"Yes, but I _am _a human, you know." Mikoto said as she drank water from a bottle not far from where she put her towel. "…_and_ a _girl_. So it's normal even for me to get a bit tired every once in a while."

Mikoto once again wiped the sweats on her face with the towel.

"…and this is more like, mental tiredness instead of physical tiredness…" she mumbled.

"Mental tiredness?" Hanai asked questioningly, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying the mind and body is one?" Mikoto continued. "Well, to put it simply, your body is connected to your mind. When your mind is weak, then your body would turn weak too. When your mind became tired, then your body would feel tired too."

"I see." Hanai said understandingly while nodding his head. "But what was it that's making you tired, anyway? Just wondering."

Mikoto sighed a little. She turned her body and now staring directly at Hanai.

…

"It's about Sasakura-sensei's movie project." she said. "I couldn't think of anything good for the script."

"Oh, _that_." Hanai said, readjusting his Dougi a little. "So you were thinking about that the whole day?"

Mikoto nodded.

"Yeah." she said. "Today, at school, from the looks of it, it seemed like everybody was having a smooth time with their script. Tsukamoto was smiling all the time, writing story notes. Takano shouldn't have any problems with this kind of thing, seeing the fact that she was the one who wrote our script for the play at Bunkasai. Imadori……"

She stopped for a moment.

"Well…" she said, sighing. "I bet he already wrote at least _something_…"

For his own good, Mikoto thought to herself, he'd better not write anything ridiculous.

Most particularly ridiculous things involving_ me_.

"Harima grinned all day too, so I guess he had no problems with his script." Mikoto continued. "And Sawachika seemed busy writing stuff here and there on her own notebook..."

Mikoto grinned a little.

Her mind flew to the sight she saw about Eri today. Interestingly, while writing on her script, that supposedly centred on the theme _love_, she saw Eri not once, not twice, but numerous times glancing secretly at Harima. Eri didn't know that she knew, and she didn't want to bother to tease Eri.

Akira must have noticed it too, Mikoto said to herself.

That Ojou should be more honest to herself, really…

…

……

Mikoto sighed once more.

Even so, that Ojou must have already written something for her script, while I am still stuck at nothing…

Mikoto was sure that her friends wouldn't mind if at the deadline she just says that she couldn't think of anything, thus, she didn't create any script, but Mikoto didn't want to just avoid her responsibility like that.

She _must_ come up with something during these next two days.

…

"What about you, Hanai?" Mikoto looked up to her childhood friend. "Have you written anything yet?"

"Of course!" Hanai said proudly. "Yesterday, as soon as we concluded our meeting at the library, I rushed to find imaginative ideas in order to create the best script!"

"Oh?" Mikoto said, a bit down. Even Hanai beat her on this. "What's the script about?"

"You just have to wait until our team's next meeting, Suou." Hanai gave Mikoto a thumb's up. "At that time, I will reveal my script to everyone. Besides, I still need time to put it into perfection."

"Wait." Mikoto said, a sudden realization came to her mind. "By any chance, your script wouldn't have anything to do with Tsukamoto's little sister, would it?"

"Of course it is!" Hanai exclaimed. "The script must be centred on love, isn't it? And what kind of love greater then my love for Yakumo-kun?"

Mikoto sighed once again.

She should have known this. Hanai's infatuation to Yakumo-chan was one for the Guiness Book's record. She didn't know what his script is about, but she highly doubt he didn't write himself as the main actor and Yakumo-chan as the main actress.

She also highly doubted that the team would accept his script based on this new information…

…

But at least he came up with something, Mikoto thought, while I am still at nothing…

…

Hanai stared at Mikoto's troubled face.

"…Look, Suou," he said, deciding that he should help her about this the best he could. "Creating a script for a movie isn't that hard thing to do—you just have to know the tricks to do it, that's all."

"Yeah?" Mikoto replied. "What kind of tricks?"

"Well…" Hanai said, with his trademarked The-Class-President-Way-of-Speaking, "There are a lot of them, but the most important one is, at first, you shouldn't look too far for your source of inspiration. You probably didn't realize this at first, but the greatest source of inspiration for this kind of thing has already been there all along with you!"

Mikoto listened to his words carefully. Hanai did have the tendency of overreacting when he's explaining something, but his words usually carried a lot of weight within themselves. He didn't become the class president for nothing, after all.

…

"I bet you are asking yourself what is the source, yes?" Hanai continued. "The source is _your own experience_."

"My… own, experience?" Mikoto said slowly.

Hanai nodded.

"Yes!" he said. "Take a look at _me_ for example, I am a bit baffled about what kind of story I should make for my movie script. Yesterday night, I was literally drowned in ocean of books trying to find a source of inspiration. Then, when I am about to give up, a sudden realization hit me in the head: I don't need a book! I _am _a book!"

"Ho…" Mikoto said amusingly.

"Why don't I look at _myself_ for a source of inspiration!" Hanai said, firing up. "I have a lot of experiences with Yakumo-kun that would definitely make good script for a movie! We have so many fond memories together that _define_ the very characteristics of _love_!"

"Uh-huh." Mikoto said again.

Yakumo-chan would have most probably fainted if she heard those words directly, and not the kind of faint that was induced by happiness, too.

…

"So, to cut things short…" Mikoto said. "You said that I should search for my own real experiences and make them into a script for my movie? is that it?"

Hanai nodded.

"You understand quickly, Suou!" he said, giving Mikoto yet another thumb's up. "Besides, movies are more like the portrayal of reality, and what is better to portray reality but the reality itself?"

…

He said some strange, sophisticated, and out of the world comments sometimes, Mikoto thought, but the funny thing is that she sensed that his words, no matter how ridiculous they would seem; they rang a little bit of truth.

…

My own experiences, huh…, Mikoto thought to herself.

But therein the problem: she didn't have a lot of experiences regarding this matter. The only time she thought she fell in love with someone—it didn't turn out well…

Or maybe she should just write something about that…? The one time when she fell in love but ended up tragically?

Maybe it would work for a tragic love drama script or something like that…

……

"Suou?" Hanai said worriedly, seeing Mikoto drowning in her own deep thought. "Are you all right?"

Mikoto looked at Hanai's worried face for a while.

She smiled.

"Yes, I am fine." she said. "I think I am finally able to write something for my script, now."

"Really?" Hanai said. "You do?"

"Yes." Mikoto replied shortly. "Thanks to you."

"I am always here to help you, Suou!" Hanai said boldly. "All you need to do is to ask!"

"I'll be sure I remember that." Mikoto said, smiling. "Thanks."

* * *

**-Takano Akira-**

-_The last day before the second meeting, in her part-time work_'_s location, the old book shop_-

Akira worked her part-time job at a used book store, which people rarely ever came to. But it didn't bother her, because for one, she got her payment anyway no matter how many people came to the store and two, she got herself an environment where she could read many kinds of books at her own leisure.

You see, Akira might not look like the type, but she was really into books, and could spend hours upon hours just to read them.

Today, as usual, the store was empty. There were a couple of kids coming earlier, only to be disappointed because they thought that the book store was selling mangas, when of course, not.

Well, anyway, Akira now had the chance to really savour the moment. She was all alone, enjoying the quiet contemplation of the situation, observing each and every words on the book she read now peacefully, and…

This, and that…

Before…

…

"Hi, Takano-san!"

Her friends showed up.

Akira turned her attention from the book to the front door of her store. There, she spotted two of her classmates, Yuuki Tsumugi and Ootsuka Mai, waving their hands cheerfully to her.

Well, this was quite unexpected. It was rare for her three best friends to visit her on this shop, let alone other classmates of hers. The only time Yuuki visited this store was before the Bunkasai, back then Yuuki didn't even know that Akira worked part-time at the store.

"Hi, Yuuki-san, Ootsuka-san." Akira said. "The two of you want to buy some books today?" She closed the book she was reading.

"Yes." Yuuki replied shortly. "We are looking for good, romantic books, Takano-san."

"Romantic books?" Akira said, one of her eyebrows rose. "By any chance, are you going to use them as reference for Sasakura-sensei's movie project?"

Yuuki and Mai nodded their head at the same time.

"Yeah." Mai said. "We were charged to become the script-writer for our team, and we were given 4 days to create a script. Both Yuuki and I managed to come up with something, but…"

"But we were kind of stuck." Yuuki said, completing Mai's words. "So we figured that we should read up some books to gather more inspiration. We've looked up the school library, but they didn't have any decent collection of romantic novels. Then I remember about you working here, Takano-san, so I hope that you could help us with something over this."

_I thought so_, Akira said to herself. _All the other teams are making romantic movies too_.

"Romantic novels and the like are over there." Akira said, pointing her finger at one of the shelves at the corner of the store. "But mind you, the books we have here are mostly old ones, so you won't be able to find any teenage drama; or things like that, in our store."

"It's okay." Yuuki said, smiling. "We're looking for an inspiration on how to end a romantic story. You see; the part where Mai-chan said we were stuck with was at the ending. So we are now kind of looking for good ways to create a good, proper ending."

"I see." Akira nodded her head softly.

"Do you have any recommendation on books with great ending to its story, Takano-san?" Mai asked. "It doesn't have to be a happy ending, but a great, fitting, ending."

Akira gave it a thought for a while.

"The Song of the Swan." Akira said slowly, contemplating. "It is a romance novel with a very good ending, written by a French guy called Francis Chapellone. The Miracle of Heaven by Hajime Kondo is not too shabby either. Oh, and probably the best in terms how the author ended the story, Closer Love—a novel about how many times people does not realize that the person that cares for them the most are most of the time the person who is closest to them—written by a woman, Maria Charlotte. The foreign ones have been translated to Japanese."

…

"The last one seemed interesting." Yuuki said, nodding her head a little. "But you really are amazing, Takano-san, being able to remember them all."

"Yes, well…" Akira said. "I've read almost all the books here, just to kill time."

Akira said this last sentence so casually; unaware that Yuuki and Mai were getting quite a shock thanks to it. The store might not be so big, but it was quite jam-packed with shelves full of books that it was quite normal for people to think that it could take at least one hundred years to finish them all. Most likely the things that a person kills when they read so many books were not only just the time but themselves as well.

"…And I do think Closer Love is the best amongst the three." Akira continued. "But you may think differently. They were all there." she pointed at the same shelve again.

"…So, The Song of the Swan, Miracle of Heaven, and Closer Love." Mai repeated the titles Akira mentioned before. "All right, I'll look for them."

With that, Mai dashed herself to the shelve Akira pointed at, leaving Yuuki and Akira together alone.

…

……

"So, what kind of movie does your team make, Takano-san?" Yuuki asked, approaching Akira who stood behind the paying counter. "Is it action, thriller, or…"

"Those indeed seemed more interesting." Akira said shortly. "But our team has decided to make a romantic drama movie instead."

"Really?" Yuuki said. "The same as us, then?"

"Not just us." Akira said. "With the kind of audience we are strictly targeting, most probably almost all, if not all, movies produced on Sasakura-sensei's project would be about love and the like. It's just logical."

"I guess so." Yuuki sighed. "But that would make the competition even harder then before, wouldn't it?"

Akira nodded.

"Of course." she said. "But what's so fun about being in a competition is that you have the chance to prove yourself that you are much better then your competitors, isn't that right?"

Yuuki gave it a thought a little.

"I suppose." she said. "Tougher competitions would force people to work harder, and as such, better results bound to show up."

Akira nodded once again.

…

Yuuki stared at Akira.

It seemed a little strange for her, to be able to talk to Takano-san so smoothly like this. When you looked at a person like Takano-san for the first time, the impression you got must have been around things such as she's a cold, unfriendly person. The fact that she rarely spoke at the class, and at times seemed a bit distant with other classmates, well, they didn't help matters either.

…

But really, if you really talked to her, Takano Akira wasn't that kind of cold, unfriendly person. She was a nice person.

In fact, talking with Akira for Yuuki seemed so relaxing and a bit fun, because she just could feel the connection between how she talked and how Takano-san talked. After all, Takano-san's really an intelligent person, and it would always a fun thing to do for Yuuki to converse with intelligent people.

…

"Yuuki-san." Akira words snapped Yuuki out from her daydream. "Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Ah, oh, sorry, sorry." Yuuki replied, shaking her head and waving her hands a bit frantically. "It's nothing—it's just that……, Takano-san, are you the script writer for your team?"

"Yeah, I want to know that too." Mai has returned from her search, carrying with her the three novels Akira previously mentioned. She handed them to Akira for pricing.

"Yes and no." Akira answered shortly, picking up the novels for price-checking. "I mean, maybe my script will be used, maybe not."

"What do you mean?" Mai asked questioningly.

"Well…" Akira continued, "We have decided to give each members of our group to propose a script. Then, we shall choose the best amongst them, and that script is the one that we will use for our movie."

She handed the books and the receipt to Mai.

"That's a good idea." Yuuki said. "That way there will be more diverse choices for your team for the script."

She tilted her head a little.

"I wonder why we didn't think of that." she said slowly.

"That's because that kind of thing would only work with Takano-san's group!" Mai said boldly, handing Akira the money for the books. "They must have had a hard time trying to decide which person is going to be the script writer for the team—after all, all of the class' brilliant minds were gathered there. So they must come up with a way to choose the best among the best."

"You glorify our team too much." Akira said shortly. "The two of you are easily the smartest girls in our class, after all."

"…No, no, Mai-chan is right, Takano-san." Yuuki said, her face appeared like she was contemplating something. "Your team are filled with 2-C's greatest potentials for creating the best movie for our class. You have Sawachika-san with you…"

"…which undoubtedly smart." Mai completed Yuuki's sentence.

"Then you have Suou-san…" Yuuki continued.

"A person that is great at doing, well, practically everything." Mai added.

"Then you have Tsukamoto-san…" Yuuki continued.

Mai stopped for a moment.

…

"Well, I am sure Tsukamoto-san could come up with something fabulous for the script." Mai said, laughing apologetically a little. "I mean, it seemed like she is the most enthusiastic person in our class about doing this movie project."

…

"Then you have Harima-san…" Yuuki said.

"Which will undoubtedly surprise everyone with his… er…" Mai stopped once more, trying to think of something suitable to say. "…Unexpected side of art. Um, maybe."

"Then you have Imadori-san…" Yuuki still mentioning each Tenma's team members' names.

Mai shook her head in slow motion.

"A person with his calibre of experiences must be an expert at creating scripts for romantic movies." she said, a bit loud. "I suppose he even had the potential to create the best script for this kind of thing…"

…

"Then you have Hanai…" Yuuki said, but this time she completed her sentence without Mai interference. "Who is not only the smartest guy in our class but also quite probably the smartest guy in the whole school. I bet he could come up with an amazing script for your team."

Akira steered her eyes to Yuuki.

…

Mai didn't seem to realize it. Even Yuuki herself didn't seem to realize it. But Akira sensed that Yuuki subtly changed the way she talked when the subject is about Hanai. Her tone seemed a bit softer then usual.

Akira didn't say anything about it, but she smiled a little.

…

"And then you, Takano-san." Mai pointed her index to Akira for a short while. "You, the person mostly responsible for creating our success at Bunkasai's theatrical play."

She sighed.

"It seemed like you guys are the invincible team or something." she said.

"You are exaggerating things." Akira said plainly. "All the teams in the school had the exact same probability to become the winner. There are a lot of smart, imaginative people in our school, you know."

"So like, what kind of story did you make for your script, Takano-san?" Mai said all of the sudden; her face looked a bit excited. "I bet your story must be amazing."

"Nothing too sophisticated." Akira said shortly. "Just my real-life experiences, turned into a movie script, that's all."

…

……

This sudden information from Akira effectively turned Mai and Yuuki silent. For a moment or so, they even exchanged glances, seemingly unsure that what they just heard from Akira was really what they heard from Akira.

…

"Your…, own, experiences?" Yuuki said, her face seemed a bit intrigued.

Akira nodded.

"…But, this is a script for a love romantic movie…, isn't it?" said Mai.

"Yes." Akira stared at both of the girls questioningly. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Both Mai and Yuuki quickly shook their heads.

"No, no, no, no." Yuuki said, frantically waving her hands. "Or course nothing is wrong. Nothing, ha ha ha ha…"

Akira stared at both of them, before shrugging her shoulders, and then returned to read the book she held on her hand.

Mai and Yuuki quickly turned their backs from Akira, and then they whispered to each other with as voices as low as possible,

"She said her _own _experiences!" Mai whispered excitedly.

"Yes, I know, I know!" Yuuki said with the same excited look on her face. "Takano-san's love experience! This is so exciting!"

"You know it!" Mai replied. "I wonder what kind of story is it—I _really_ want to know!"

Their excitement was really understandable, really. Amongst all of their female classmates, the only person always seemingly unconcerned with romantic problems was none other than Takano Akira herself. Nobody, not even her own three best friends, ever spotted her walking together with a boy, speaking about a boy, or generally do things people in love usually do.

It seemed like she was just flat out not interested on that kind of thing.

Thus, Mai and Yuuki were excited to hear that Akira was about to use one of her own experiences for a romantic movie script. What kind of romantic experiences does a person like Takano Akira had? What kind of person could thwart the heart of the venerable Ice Princess?

…

This just maybe the greatest scoop _ever_ in the history of class 2-C!

……

"Um…" Yuuki said, after she and Mai turned their eyes again at Akira. "If…, you don't mind, Takano-san, can we take a look…, um…, just a _peek_, at your script?"

Akira turned her attention from the book to the girls.

One of her eyebrows rose.

"Why do you want to do that?" she said questioningly.

"It's not like we want to plagiarize or something like that!" Mai said quickly. "But we just really want to know what kind of story you make! You know, we are kind of intrigued, since you _are_ the script writer for our Bunkasai play…something like that."

…

Akira stared at both of the girls. She seemed to be thinking about something.

……

"No, sorry." Akira said, "Truth be told, my script still need a little bit of this and that before it's entirely completed. I don't want to show to people my work when they are still unfinished."

Her lips then formed a very-rarely-seen-on-Akira's-face smile.

"But if my script is chosen for our team's project, and somehow our team won Sasakura-sensei's offer…" she said. "Then eventually both of you could see the story on your television, right? Just wait for that."

…

"Oh, all right then, Takano-san." Yuuki said weakly. She was clearly very disappointed by Akira's refusal.

"Then, we'll be going now." Mai said, a bit more cheerful then Yuuki but it was clear that she was also heavily disappointed. "Thanks for your help, Takano-san."

Both of the girls waved their hands.

"Yes." Akira replied. "Be careful."

And with that, the two girls left Akira's store.

…

"You know what, Mai-chan." Yuuki said slowly when they were still a few steps away from Akira's store. "This might sound weird, but now I am kind of hoping that Takano-san's team win this thing so that we would be able to see her movie…"

"Yes, I know…" Mai said thoughtfully. "But that doesn't mean that we should just give up like that! We too, have to do our best on this project! We must strive to achieve nothing less then victory!"

Yuuki smiled.

The ever so enthusiastic vice-president of her class. Always filled with enthusiastic spirits.

"Right!" Yuuki said, giving her thumbs up.

* * *

**-Imadori Kyousuke & Harima Kenji-**

-_The last day before the second meeting, in a manga store somewhere in Japan_-

"Yay." Imadori said happily when he spotted the new volume of Dojibiron manga was available for purchase.

Walking happily like a little kid—while ignoring the looks he got from other people on the store—he approached the shelf where the manga was displayed and picked one from there.

"Yay." he said once again. "Now I can read what happens next after the Giant Monster's secret weapon is revealed. Man, I can't wait!"

He made his way to cashier while humming the Dojibiron's theme song.

By the time he arrived at the cashier, however, he stopped his hum because there was an interesting sight there; the sight of a certain person carrying lots of manga books, waiting patiently at the paying queue, while looking somewhat blissfully unaware to his surroundings.

Now, if this person was just an ordinary other person, he wouldn't care—but since the person was someone he knew that he wouldn't have thought before as a person taking an interest in things such as manga, well…

…

Imadori stealthily approached the person from the back.

……

"Yo!" he said a bit loud while simultaneously tapped the person's shoulder. "What are you doing here, Harima?"

The person was indeed Harima Kenji.

Harima jumped a little, surprised by the sudden greeting. When he turned around to see the person greeting him, he seemed even more surprised to see that the person was Imadori.

"Imadori?" he said. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Well, yeah, hello." Imadori said, waving his hand a little, ignoring Harima's question. "This store is quite big, yes? So it's no wonder I didn't see you and you didn't see me earlier."

His eyes strolled down to the mangas Harima carried. "Buying some mangas, I see. I didn't know you are the kind of guy that read mangas, Harima."

"Yeah well, everybody reads them." Harima answered matter-of-factly. "It would be hard to look for someone in Japan who doesn't like to read mangas."

"True, true." Imadori nodded. "By the way, Harima, what kind of mangas do you buy?" His eyes strolled to three books of mangas Harima held on his left hand.

"Shounen manga." Harima answered. "Mainly action or sports."

"Figures." Imadori said. "A tough looking guy like you must like those kinds of manga, yeah?"

"What about you?" Harima asked. "What kind of manga do you buy?"

Imadori proudly lifted his new Dojibiron manga in front of Harima so that he could see it clearly.

"This, of course." he said excitedly. "I've been waiting _forever_ for this new volume to come out. Finally this day has come; finally my wish to know the fate of the heroes after being cornered by the Giant Monster shall be fulfilled!"

"You talk like it's some sort of sophisticated manga or something." Harima said, turning his back away from Imadori, moving along the paying queue. "It's for kids, right?"

"That is just a misconception." Imadori tried to explain, unaware to the fact that Harima just seemed uninterested to his words, "True, Dojibiron is a show for kids, but _not_ just kids! That is what so great about it is that it is also a suitable show for adults! Look at all the action, the romance, the drama, the thrill…"

"I get it, I get it." Harima cut through Imadori's explanation. He was not in the mood to hear an overly-excited high school student trying to justify his infatuation with stuff for kids.

It was his turn right now to pay. Harima gave his mangas to the female cashier, along with the money.

"Thank you." said the female cashier politely.

Around one minute later she gave Harima's mangas, wrapped inside a plastic bag, with the change. "Thank you for shopping here, and have a nice day, sir."

"Yeah, nice day to you too." Harima said indifferently, taking his goods from the cashier.

He walked out from the store without even looking back at Imadori.

"Hey, Harima!" Imadori shouted as he gave his manga and the money to the female cashier. "Wait for me, will you?"

"Dojibiron manga, sir?" the cashier said as she took Imadori's manga and money, she smiled a little. Perhaps she felt a bit amused that a person with his kind of age could actually buy a manga for kids and seemingly not ashamed at all by it.

"Yes, yes…" Imadori said impatiently, his eyes staring at the exit door. "Would you please bit hurry, I have to catch my…"

When he turned to look at the cashier, Imadori stopped mid-sentence.

That's because he just realized that the cashier was in fact not only a female, but also a female around his age, and more so a beautiful female around his age.

And not just that, when his eyes automatically strolled down to look at a particular spot at the female cashier, the word 'D!' suddenly flying around his perverted mind.

…

A beautiful female with a D… definitely something that his playboy sense just couldn't ignore.

"Here's the change, sir." the cashier said politely, handing Imadori his new manga, wrapped inside a nice plastic bag, and the change. "Thank you for shopping here, and have a nice day, sir."

Imadori suddenly flashed his charming playboy smile. He leaned closer towards the female cashier a bit.

"Yea, but it's nice already now that I see _you_ today, beautiful." Imadori said elegantly, blinking one of his eyes. "Tell you what, why don't you keep the change, in case at the future you feel the sudden urge to call a particular number on a payphone. I am feeling generous today."

"And what would that number be?" said the female cashier, giggling. She didn't seem ashamed by Imadori's sudden and frontal assault, in fact it seemed like she was rather amused by it. Maybe her job was so boring that she just simply couldn't resist a good entertainment like this. The fact that no one was currently queuing behind Imadori helped too.

"Why, a very special number, of course!" Imadori whipped out his wallet, taking out a card from inside it. "And I am not just giving you the change, I am also giving you a free card along with it. Aren't you lucky today?"

He gave the card to the cashier, who took it and examining it.

It was some sort of a business card, with a rather large Imadori Kyousuke name imprinted in it, and containing other unimportant information; such as his phone call, his birthday, his hobby, even a small profile about him.

"Thank you, sir." the cashier said while giggling a little. She was clearly amused to the fact that someone would actually bother to make a business card as complete as this just for the sole purpose of flirting. "But you'd better hurry chasing your friend; otherwise you might just lose him."

"Oh yeah, right!" Imadori suddenly remembered that he intended to speak with Harima about something and Harima just walked out from the door a few moments ago. Seeing the sight of a beautiful girl somehow always short-circuited his memory or something.

He quickly grabbed his manga (along with the change) and dashed to the exit door.

Before leaving the shop entirely, however, he turned himself grandiosely to look at the female cashier.

"I'll be waiting for your call, beautiful!" he said, bowing himself a little.

A second after that, he dashed towards the way Harima left.

By the time Imadori was out of the picture, the cashier couldn't help herself not to laugh, ignoring the looks she got from other people inside the store.

"That creep!" she said hilariously. "He took the change anyway!"

…

……

Fortunately for Imadori, he could catch up with Harima easily since Harima was stuck along with many other people waiting the 'WAIT' sign to change into 'WALK' at one side of a crowded street. They were all waiting to cross the road.

"Hey, man, chill a little, okay?" he said, catching a breath for a while because he ran quite frantically before. "Do you make yourself a habit of leaving a classmate you met outside accidentally during a beautiful, clear, sunny day like this?"

"Depends on who is the classmate." Harima said matter-of-factly. "And besides, you are slow."

…_If it was Tenma_-_chan_, _I'll wait for her even until the end of the world_…_ no matter how slow it was_…

…

"And now you're just being cruel." Imadori continued. "I am just being held a little by a beautiful little bird I just couldn't afford to ignore. Hey, Harima…"

The WAIT has changed into WALK, and the drove of people waiting along with Harima and Imadori moved, crossing the road like a flood breaking through a broken dam.

"What say you we take a quick sip at the WAS together?" Imadori said, pointing at one of the building across the street where one of WAS' branches was located. "I am kind of hungry and I could use a friend while I am eating."

"No." Harima replied flatly. "I am busy."

_Why would I accompany him anyway_? Harima said to himself. _Besides_, _eating together with in a restaurant together with a boy is just so uncool_!

…

"Really?" Imadori said, one of his eyebrows rose. "Busy doing what?"

"Busy doing busy stuff." Harima answered shortly. "Busy stuff busy people usually do on a busy day like this."

_Just get lost already_, _will you_? _Sheeshh_…

…

"Oh well." Imadori stopped in front of WAS' entrance, while Harima kept walking. "And I am thinking about _treating you_ for this one. Guess I'll be saving my money, then. See you tomorrow, Harima!"

…

Harima stopped his step, quickly turned, and ran towards Imadori. He then flung his right arm along Imadori's shoulder, acting like he was the very best friend of Imadori or something.

…

"…But of course." Harima said, laughing. "Even a busy person should spare a bit of his time when a friend could use a company, yea?"

Imadori stared at Harima's face for a moment.

"You just want to eat free or charge." he said accusingly.

"What are you accusing me of, my friend?" Harima said, still laughing. "I don't have any subliminal intentions whatsoever to help a friend in need of a company on a sunny, beautiful, day like this! My nice, sensitive heart just couldn't afford to let such misery left unattended!"

"You sure know how to talk when it comes to free food, Harima." Imadori said, but he entered the WAS' building all the same, quickly followed by Harima.

The restaurant was uncharacteristically empty. Only a few people were queuing at the register, and most of the lines were even devoid of people. Only around ten people total were sitting inside the restaurant, enjoying their foods and drinks.

Which was perfect, so they didn't have to wait too long to eat their foods.

…

"WAS Set number seven, please." Imadori said by the time he and Harima arrived at the register. This time he didn't bother to whip out his business card because although the attendant behind the register was a relatively attractive female, she wasn't a D. "What would you like to have, Harima?"

Harima eyed the food list above the register for a moment.

"WAS Set number one." he said. "With a large size cola, large size chicken, and large size fries. Oh, and throw another large-size cheeseburger too, while you're at it."

Imadori was stunned to hear Harima's list of orders.

"Yo, Harima." he said panicky because that kind of order would most certainly blow a very large hole on his wallet. "For a person without any subliminal intentions, you really do order _a lot_!"

Harima patted Imadori's shoulder.

"It's because I am so happy being invited to eat together by a nice friend." he said, smiling happily. "Right, I'll be waiting at the table near the window, yea? Be careful not to drop our food when you bring them there, okay?"

He trailed off to the said table, leaving Imadori alone, speechless, at the register.

Imadori regretted his good intention of treating a friend already.

…

"Here you go, sir." said the attendant, putting down all of him and Harima's orders at the counter. Bringing them all without tumbling would be a rather difficult task. "Yours and your friend's orders."

"He's _not_ my friend." Imadori grumbled, taking out the money from his wallet grudgingly. Just as he expected, his wallet felt so terribly light after the transaction.

…

After having quite a difficulty carrying the foods and drinks to where Harima was sitting, however, Imadori decided to let bygones be bygones and it would be better for him to just enjoy his share of food—while of course, making a mental note to _avoid_ inviting Harima to a free meal at the future.

……

"So…" Imadori opened the conversation, biting his chicken burger. "You often buy manga?"

"Nah." Harima replied. Unlike Imadori, who seemed to savour each and every moment of the bite, Harima ate at a much faster rate—something that you wouldn't call 'decent' if the restaurant was a fancy one. "Most of the time only two or three every two months or so. I bought three today for a special occasion."

"Special occasion?" Imadori said curiously.

"Yeah." Harima answered, biting a large portion of his cheeseburger.

"What kind of special occasion?" Imadori continued.

Harima stopped eating. He stared at Imadori.

…

_I don't want to tell anyone about this_…, he said to himself, contemplating. _But_, _I guess it_s_ okay to tell him since he treated me like this and all_…

…

"Well…" Harima said. "I am writing an action-romance story for my script. Mostly done, but there are some parts on it that I just couldn't seem able to complete, due to lack of inspiration."

Harima patted the plastic where his new mangas were wrapped in.

"And according to me, the best way to search for new inspirations is to look on mangas." he said. "Because mangas were created by geniuses filled with amazing imaginations and creativity. What's wrong with searching for an inspiration from the work created by the geniuses of inspirations?"

"Hm." Imadori nodded his head slowly. "So basically, you are searching for an inspiration for that script of yours inside mangas? That's quite wicked, Harima; and clever, to boot."

"I know." Harima said, nodding his head.

"That showed that you really appreciate the beautiful art that is a manga." Imadori continued. "I rarely see a person filled with wonderful appreciation like that such as you, Harima. I might have to rephrase my opinion on you for this."

Harima scratched his hair.

"Hahahaha." he laughed. "Well, it's just normal for a great guy like me!"

_I begin to like this guy_! Harima said to himself as he was staring at Imadori and kept laughing for about next half a minute, ignoring the strange looks he got from the rest of the customers inside the restaurant.

…

……

"By the way, Harima." Imadori said, biting another part of his burger.

"Yeah?" Harima replied happily. His mood was somehow lifted because the praise Imadori gave him just before. "What is it?"

"Why do you write a script?" Imadori asked.

…

……

"Huh?"

This question was so weird that Harima just couldn't help himself not to stare quizzically at Imadori.

…

"Yeah, I mean…" Imadori continued to eat his burger. "Why do you write a script? I thought you are not the type of person who would write a script for a play or anything."

"Why…, do I write a script?" Harima said slowly.

"Yeah." Imadori nodded his head. "What do you write a script for? Is it for a theatrical show somewhere? Just tell me when and where and I'll be sure to watch it."

"…Theatrical play?" Harima said, befuddled by Imadori's questions. "Imadori, what are you _talking about_? It's the script for our movie project."

"_Our_ movie project?" Imadori said, raising one of his eyebrows. "What do you mean _our_ movie project?"

He laughed softly.

"I am not making any movie now, nor do I plan to make any in the future." Imadori waved his hand in amusement. "And I certainly don't have any plans to be a producer or director or something. You sure know how to talk funny, Harima."

…

Harima stared disbelievingly at Imadori.

He stared at Imadori like a scientist looking at a newly discovered alien entity on Earth or something.

…

"It's the movie project from Sasakura-sensei." Harima said slowly, because he wanted Imadori to capture each and every word from his mouth clearly. "You know, the one she gave to us a couple of days ago? The _art project_ where we formed a team to create a movie? Where the winner would be shown at Touto TV…?"

…

……

………

"OH-MY-GOD!" Imadori shouted so loudly, it seemed like all of the furniture inside the restaurant were shaking.

He slapped his own forehead.

"Don't tell me you _forgot_ about it?" Harima said incredulously.

"I FORGOT! I FORGOT!" Imadori said panicky, slapping his own forehead again for numerous times.

…

……

"How… in the world…" Harima said. He even forgot to eat his food for a moment, because this fact was too strange for him to just ignore. "_Could_ you forget about it?"

"We…, well…" Imadori answered. "Today is the launch day of the new Dojibiron manga, and I really eager for that. So these last couple of days I've watched and read all Dojibiron movies and mangas I owned to heighten the anticipation, and, well, by doing that I am… a bit… forgetting about everything else, I suppose."

"You are going to school, yea?" Harima said, still incredulously. "Everybody in the school is talking about it. How in earth do you miss that?"

"Well, I was sort of busy playing with playing with my cell phone and all…" Imadori replied, laughing remorsefully. "And there's the new Dojibiron portable game…, I am like, totally hooked by it I didn't pay any attention to anything else at school…"

…

It was now Harima's turn to slap his own forehead.

If one of his team members was like this, Harima thought to himself, the chance for their team to win might really be very little to none…

…

"Well, I remember it all now, so no problem, no problem." Imadori said confidently. "And now I _do_ remember that tomorrow we're going to have a meeting to decide whose script we will use for the movie project, right?"

"Yeah…" Harima answered slowly.

"Well, no problem then, no problem!" Imadori continued. "One day is more than enough for a man like me to create the most wonderful script in the world!"

Imadori stood up.

"Sorry, Harima, but I guess I have to go home now, working on the script." Imadori said. "Is it all right for me to leave you alone now?"

"Just go." Harima waved his hand.

_Being together too long with you might not be a good idea at all_, _you baka_, Harima said to himself. _I might get infected with your baka virus or something_…

"Well then, bye!" Imadori bowed himself a little. "See you tomorrow!"

Harima was still staring at Imadori disbelievingly when Imadori dashed out from the restaurant, and finally disappeared from his view.

How could a person just forget something like that was totally beyond his comprehension. There was also the fact that it was Imadori _himself_ that suggested the theme love for their movie project…, for him to forget that…, well… even to call it stupidity was an understatement.

……

_Don_'_t tell me he forgot about that too_, Harima thought, _and instead of making a romantic drama, he'd make a movie script about super robots or something_.

…

Harima sighed.

Well, at least that is one less competition for him for tomorrow. Bigger chance for his script to be chosen by the team as the basis for the movie project.

Harima stared at all of the foods and drinks on the table; the one he ordered and the ones Imadori left behind.

…

_Heh_, he said to himself. _At least I am not going to be hungry for today_...

* * *

**To Be Continued**


	5. Rumble 5

**SCHOOL RUMBLE: TWIST, TWIST, & TURN**

**By: Pizza Blade**

**PART FIVE**

**

* * *

**

"Ho-AaaaaAhhh."

Tenma yawned widely.

…

"Are you still sleepy, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked.

"Hmh," Tenma answered, while rubbing both her eyes. "Yakumooo… yes, yes, I feel so sleepy…, do you think I could get permission not to attend school for today?"

Both of them were in the middle of walking to their school. Much like three days before, the weather was very pleasant—the sky was blue, the wind felt so refreshing, the air felt so clean and healthy, and the sun shone ever so beautifully. It was the kind of day where it was just impossible not to feel blissful about.

Even with all of those pleasant conditions, however, Tenma was barely able to keep her eyes open. Her eyes were bright red, and there were black and not-too-pleasant-to-look-at marks under them.

She even wobbled back and forth, like a drunken person.

…

"You couldn't ask for permission not to attend school just because you are _sleepy_, Nee-san," Yakumo said, "Besides, you _must_ attend school today, right? Today is the day your team discussing the script for your movie project."

Tenma nodded weakly.

"I am sure that my script will be the winner!" she said confidently—well, as confident as a sleepy person might sound, anyway. "Because… not only I've worked so hard for it, that script is a story coming from _you_, Yakumo!"

Yakumo smiled.

"Yes, I hope your team would think the same," she said shortly, nodding her head.

…

Last night, apparently Tenma worked unusually hard to finish her script. She even slept in the morning, at two—the very first time on her entire life she ever slept at that hour. For Tsukamoto Tenma, lack of sleep was a very big No-No, because the after-effect would be most certainly unpleasant, as anyone could see today. She just couldn't afford to lose her precious sleep time.

…

They kept on walking, and walking, and Tenma was watched by quite number of people along the street thanks to her zig-zag walking motion and occasional wide yawn. Tenma didn't seem to mind about it, although with each person staring at her sister Yakumo would always immediately told her that yawning in the middle of a street might not be an appropriate thing for a girl to do.

…

"What about you, Yakumo?" Tenma said, trying to keep talking so that she could focus herself to open her eyes. "H---ow about your movie?"

"I've got word from my friend that the script has already been completed, except for the final scene," Yakumo replied, "And my team is going to shoot for our first scene the day after tomorrow, at Yagami Park. We're going to do a final meeting before the shooting today at our house…"

"At our house?" Tenma asked.

Yakumo nodded.

"Yes…" she said slowly, "I hope you don't mind about that, Nee-san."

"No, no, not at all, not at all," Tenma shook her head quickly. "I am actually kind of happy to have lots of people visiting our house. Brighten things up, you know?"

"Yes." Yakumo said.

…

Well, the truth was, the one suggested that her team should held their meeting on her house was none other than her best friend, Sara Adiemas. The reasons behind her suggestion were numerous yet simple: First, Yakumo's house was quite spacious and large. Second: the only inhabitants on that spacious and large house were only Yakumo, Tenma, and Yakumo's black cat, Iori. Third: the environment surrounding the house was relatively quiet, perfect for brainstorming sessions. Fourth: anyone visiting that house would certainly get the chance to eat Yakumo's rather famous home-made cooking.

So there.

…

Just the reason number four was actually more than enough to convince her team (especially the boys) to accept Sara's proposal. In the end, Yakumo didn't have any other choice but to oblige.

…

"So, in two days you're going to shoot your movie…" Tenma mumbled. She turned to stare Yakumo's face directly. "By the way, are you playing in it, Yakumo?"

Yakumo nodded once again.

"Yes," she said. "…I will play one of the characters in our movie…"

"Wait a minute!" Tenma exclaimed, her voice suddenly turned sharp. "Yours is a romantic movie too, right? Don't tell me that you will play a cuddly-wuddly scene together with a boy?"

…

Cuddly…, wuddly?

…

Yakumo shook her head slowly.

"No… Nee-san," she said. She felt rather amused to the fact that her sister seemingly had a knack to say really interesting combination of words lately. "Don't worry. The main actress is not me, I am just a supporter; a passing character. The one who will play…, um…, cuddly…, wuddly…, scenes is not going to be me, Nee-san…, so… you shouldn't worry."

"That's good," Tenma sighed, relieved, "It's not that I don't want you to get close to a guy, it's just that _most_ guys would take that kind of opportunity to satisfy their monkey needs, given the chance—especially with a girl like you, Yakumo! If you _must _to act like that, don't forget that you have to be _extra_ careful!"

"I don't want to do that kind of scenes too, you know..." Yakumo said quietly, more to herself than to her sister, her voice almost inaudible. "No matter with whom…"

Tenma smiled teasingly.

…

"But since Harima-kun is not a monkey…" she said playfully—she didn't seem to hear what Yakumo said before. "You _don_'_t_ have to be ex---tra careful with him… _if_ you catch my drift, …hehehe…"

Tenma giggled, while Yakumo's face went immediately bright red.

Here we go again, Tenma teasing-teasing mode.

Yakumo decided quickly that it would be best for her interest to start steering off the conversation to another direction.

…

"H…how about you, Nee-san?" Yakumo asked hastily. "Don't you worry?"

"About what?" Tenma replied. It seemed that now Tenma has been refreshed, sort of, though you still could see her eyes were still a bit red.

"What if they choose you as the main actress…" Yakumo continued. "Seeing that your movie is a romantic drama, wouldn't you have to act…, um, …cuddly, wuddly…, too with a guy at the end?"

Tenma laughed softly.

She patted her little sister's shoulder.

"Oh, come on now, Yakumo." she said amusingly. "Do you think that my team would choose _me_ as the main actress? Look at all of the other options! Eri-chan, Miko-chan, Akira-chan… Besides, we still could find someone from outside our team to help us out!"

"But you _still_ have the chance of getting chosen as one." Yakumo persisted.

Tenma shrugged her shoulders.

"Its okay." she said. "The guys in my team are all good, decent guys; not monkey guys who would just jump shamelessly at an opportunity like that."

Tenma seemed to think something for a moment after that.

"…Well, _probably_ Imadori-kun…" she said slowly. "…But we have Miko-chan in our team, so even he wouldn't be able to do anything inappropriate."

"…I see…" Yakumo said thoughtfully.

…

Well, her sister did have a point.

Harima-san and Hanai-sempai were not the kind of guy who would use this kind of thing to act inappropriately. Imadori-sempai……, well, although from what she could see he sometimes acts all playboy-like (and he got quite a reputation for that in school, too), she also could see that basically he was a good person at heart; that he was not the kind of person who would dare crossing over the line…

…

Tenma stared at Yakumo.

She flashed that mischievous smile of hers once more. She did not seem still in sleepy mode anymore.

"Don't worry, don't worry." she said, once again patting Yakumo's shoulder. "Even if in the end our team should choose Harima-kun as the main actor, he wouldn't use it to take advantage on the main actress, be it Eri-chan, Miko-chan, Akira-chan, or maybe anyone else. He's a good guy; you don't have to worry about him. Besides, you got me as your eyes, Yakumo! I will watch over him for you!"

…

It took approximately a second or so for Yakumo to really divulge in what her sister just said. When she did, as expected, her face went red all over again.

This time, however, she did not bother trying to steer the conversation to another direction. Heaven knows, no matter how far she would change the course of conversation, somehow her sister would always able to steer it back to the original point. Her sister just had some sort of genius knack for doing things like that.

…So most probably it would be a lot safer for her just to keep quiet.

Right.

* * *

"Good morning, Takano-san!"

Akira stopped her walk when someone patted her shoulder gently from behind. It was Yuuki. Lately Akira somehow often found Yuuki hanging around near her—not that she mind, actually; having someone smart to talk to was most certainly a good and pleasurable thing for Akira.

"Morning, Yuuki-san." Akira said, nodding her head softly. "You are not riding your bike today?"

Yuuki shook her head.

"No, no." she said. "Sometimes it's nice to move your legs every once in a while. It's healthy. Besides, I think it's a waste not to walk and move your legs on a beautiful day like this."

"I suppose." Akira replied shortly, staring at the clear blue sky for a moment.

They were climbing Yagamizaka road, en route to their school. The ones climbing the road were not just them, but most of the people were their fellow students.

The weather was really nice and refreshing.

…

"So, Takano-san…" Yuuki said slowly. She seemed to be eager about something yet at the same time felt hesitant about doing that particular something. "Um…"

"What?" Akira asked.

"Have you… um, finished your script?" Yuuki asked with a somewhat careful tone.

Akira nodded softly.

"Yes." she said. "I put it into perfection last night. It wasn't easy, but somehow I managed to pull it off at a rather satisfactory level."

"Oh really?" Yuuki said enthusiastically—almost a bit too enthusiastic, in fact. "Can I…, I mean, can I possibly see it? Even for just a moment?"

"What for?" Akira asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

"No particular reason, no particular reason!" Yuuki added hastily, shaking her head rather frantically. "I am just rather curious about it…, that's all."

"There is nothing special about it." Akira said directly. "It's just an ordinary script."

Yuuki stared at Akira.

…

She sighed silently.

The fact still remained that what Akira said yesterday at her part-time book shop still intrigued her…, _very_ much. The part when Akira said that she based her script on one of her own romantic experiences.

Who wouldn't want to know what kind of guy does Akira like? It must be fascinating to know what kind of story Akira's romantic experience was…

…

But Yuuki of course couldn't say it out loud. She couldn't say that the very reason why she wanted to take a peek at Akira's script was because she wanted to know what kind of romantic experiences a person like Akira could possibly have.

Even Yuuki knew that that kind of reason was sort of inappropriate.

…

Yuuki once again stole a look at Akira's direction.

…

"_I can_'_t do it_…" she said to herself rather helplessly. "_Well_, _I suppose I could ask one of Takano_-_san_'_s team members about it later_…, _I really_, _really_, _want to know_…"

So Yuuki decided to just thwart her effort to look at Akira's script, at least for this moment.

…

"What about you, Yuuki-san?" Akira asked. "Have you finished your script?"

"Yup." Yuuki nodded happily. "I went to Mai-chan's place yesterday, after we went to your store, Takano-san. We worked hard. The books you gave to us yesterday were tremendously helpful. Thanks to them, we finally able to _clinch_…" Yuuki snapped her fingers. "…the elusive ending for our script."

"That's good to hear." Akira continued. "So, which book finally inspired you for the ending for your script?"

"The Closer Love." Yuuki answered. "The one written by that…, um, Maria… Maria Charlotte. It was a very good book—not that the two other were bad, mind you."

"Really?" Akira said, she seemed a bit surprised. "The two of you managed to read three whole novels in just one day flat?"

"No, no, no." Yuuki shook her head quickly. "Of course, no one could ever read three novels in just one day—but that is if read… _read_. We just skimmed through them, to get the general idea about their story. Then, we searched the endings, and found that indeed, just like you said yesterday, Takano-san, Closer Love was the best amongst the three."

"I see." Akira said understandingly. "Well, I am glad that I could help."

"Yes, thank you very much!" Yuuki said cheerfully.

"So, when you guys are going to start filming?" Akira continued.

"We still need some time to prepare the whole thing." Yuuki said. "Karasuma-san was dealing with the equipment. He said that he had some connections so that our team can get ourselves some nice equipment."

"Oh, really?" Akira said shortly.

"Yup, and Fuyuki helped him." Yuuki continued. "Aside from photographic cameras, it would seem like he also knew a thing or two about how to operate a movie camera. I guess we got lucky to have him on our team for that reason."

"I see." Akira replied.

"Megumi and Mihara-san got the costumes." Yuuki still explaining. "Those two worked well together. I suppose it was one of those invisible bonds shared by stylish girls or something, hahaha…"

She laughed softly.

"What about Ichijou-san?" Akira asked.

"Oh, she's dealing with the props, the set…, logistics, mainly." Yuuki said with a hint of apologetic tone inside her voice. "Actually at first the team didn't want her doing that—usually logistics must deal with carrying lots of heavy stuff around, right? At first the team delegated the task to the boys, Karasuma-san and Fuyuki, but then she insisted about her appointment at logistics…, well…"

"That's just fine, I think." Akira said. "If she's the one requesting it, I don't see any problems with that."

"Yes, I suppose…" Yuuki mumbled softly.

"What about the players?" Akira asked again. "The actors? Have you got them yet?"

Yuuki blushed a little.

"Well…" she said, seemingly a bit hesitant. "We got help from Mai-chan's friends, but from our group, four people will actually play in the movie: Mai-chan, Karasuma-san, Megumi, and…, well, myself."

…

Akira smiled a little.

…

"Your team is interesting." she said shortly.

"Interesting?" Yuuki replied. "Why do you call our team interesting?"

"Well…" Akira continued. "It seemed like your team is specifically made for Sasakura-sensei's project. Each and every one of you is really suited for each task: you and Ootsuka-san, the smartest girls in our class, creating the script for the movie. Karasuma, which I _knew_ has a lot of connections, searching for the equipment. Adding to that, you have Fuyuki, most probably the most knowledgeable person in our class in regard to cameras. Sagano-san and Mihara-san—coincidentally the most stylish girls in our class, is in your team too, dealing with the costumes. Then you got Ichijou-san, although a girl… is the perfect person for dealing with… carrying lots of heavy stuff around… perfect for logistics."

Yuuki contemplated Akira's words for a moment.

…

"Well, if you put it that way…" Yuuki said slowly with a rather pleasant smile on her face. "I guess my team's indeed not so bad after all, eh…"

"Most especially true if you compare it to my team." Akira said unequivocally. "We're not even start choosing the script for the movie yet, let alone delegating tasks to our members. I guess you could say that our team's pretty laid back compared to yours."

"Don't say that, don't say that." Yuuki said disapprovingly. "I am sure that although some of your team members _may_ look like they were laid back or something, they would do magnificently when it matters the most. I am sure that your team would make something wonderful for this project, Takano-san."

Somehow after hearing that, the image of Mikoto, Eri, Tenma, Harima, Imadori, and Hanai flashed briefly inside Akira's head.

…

Akira nodded.

"I suppose so." she said shortly.

"Besides…!" Yuuki said cheerfully, clapping her hands. "I actually don't really care if the one winning this project isn't our team. As long as the team winning this thing is from our class, I really couldn't care less. As long as our class gets the pride as the place the winner came from, I'd be content."

"I see." Akira nodded once again. "Well, if you put it that way, our class is like a one big team working together to achieve the same goal. It is quite wonderful."

"It is, isn't it?" Yuuki said enthusiastically. "But _that _doesn't mean that my team would just surrender just yet, Takano-san!" She said this in a rather bold manner. "Not even from your invincible team!"

"Right back at you." Akira said, smiling a little.

…

……

They have arrived at the front of their school gates. Akira couldn't see her three friends anywhere—perhaps they have arrived earlier, or maybe _she_ was the one who got here earlier.

"By the way, Yuuki-san." she said. "All that is left for you team is to shoot the scenes, correct?"

"Pretty much." Yuuki answered. "At least, that's what it looks like right now."

"So, when are you going to start filming?" Akira continued.

"Well…" Yuuki mumbled. "Since Karasuma-san said the camera should be ready tomorrow, we figured that the day after tomorrow would be the ideal day for us to start filming."

"The day after tomorrow?" Akira said slowly, she seemed to be thinking about something. "Where?"

"At Yagami Park." Yuuki answered. "But why do you ask?"

Akira shook her head slowly.

"Nothing, nothing." she said. "I am just a bit curious on what kind of movie your team would make, that's all. It seemed like you and Ootsuka-san managed to get yourself an intriguing script, to say the least."

…

_Right back at you_, _Takano_-_san_…, Yuuki said to herself.

_Right back at you_…

* * *

Harima had this reputation as the most fearsome delinquent on the whole Yagami High-School—and probably around the neighbourhood as well. This alone granted him some privileges at school that 'normal, upstanding' students could only dream of.

Well, for one, no one in the school—or in the neighbourhood, for that matter—would even dare to disturb or otherwise generally annoy Harima. You just wouldn't want to get on the bad side of the most fearsome delinquent. Second, even though the fact itself may not be realized even by Harima himself, school rules generally didn't apply to him, nor the teachers on the school ever really try to impose them upon him. In general, he could weave his way around the rules in a much smoother manner than almost everyone else in the school. Special treatment for a fearsome guy, you know.

Although the term 'the most fearsome delinquent' may not be appropriate for Harima right now—seeing that he has substantially 'soften' to the degree that most of the time he _acted_ like he was a 'normal, upstanding' student (and we have a certain klutz princess on 2-C to thank for that)—still, the reputation he (perhaps unintentionally) built during his long rough days before he met the said klutz princess couldn't just disappear right away.

So, although he's generally a 'good boy' now, people still see him as that delinquent, that fearsome man, as if he's wearing a big sign 'I am a bad-ass Delinquent' on his neck all day long. You could probably say that Harima was the unofficial ruler or King on the school (though he seemed not to realize this).

…

Even some of his current classmates still view him as such, as evident by this morning when he drove his huge bike into the school parking lot (normally, the school wouldn't allow their students to drove a huge bike like that into the school—but this is Harima we're talking about, a man blessed with 'exceptions'). Harima was befuddled by the fact that Yoshidayama and Nara were waiting for him near the spot where he usually parked his beloved bike.

-RRRRrrrmmm-

The loud, manly voice of his bike settled down as Harima turned the ignition off.

He took the keys off, and stared quizzically at Yoshidayama and Nara, who approached him with their body slightly bowing.

…

"Good morning, Harima-sama." Yoshidayama said in a very polite manner, very unbecoming of him.

"Good morning, Harima-ku…" Nara said slowly. Yoshidayama quickly nudged him rather hard on his left rib, and Nara quickly said, "…G…Good morning, Harima-_sama_…"

"Good morning." Harima said. What's the deal with the –sama thing? "What are you guys doing here?"

"Nothing…, nothing." Yoshidayama said, bowing himself even lower. "We're here this morning just to do our rightful duty as students of Yagami High-School, especially as students coming from the same class as the great Harima-sama."

Yoshidayama nudged Nara on his rib again, and Nara quickly said,

"That's…, that's true…" Nara said. "We would like to use this beautiful morning to salute the undisputed leader of our class, the formidable Harima-ku…, Harima-_sama_."

Harima raised one of his eyebrows.

It was not that he didn't like being treated this way, but even Harima knew that something was off if out of the blue two of his lesser important (heh!) classmates greeting himself in such a way.

…

……Well, whatever.

…

"That's cool." he said shortly.

Harima then took off from the parking lot, followed closely by Yoshidayama and Nara.

…

"Harima-sama." Yoshidayama continued his very polite tone of speaking, which really screamed FAKE all over it. "How's your team doing?"

"What team?" Harima replied.

"You know…" Yoshidayama mumbled. "…for Sasakura-sensei's project."

"Oh." Harima said. "…Well, we're supposed to meet today, to discuss about the movie script."

…

As he walked down the corridor en route to his class, somehow the corridor became miraculously spacious. Well, that's because nobody wanted to stand in Harima's way while he's walking inside the corridor. Harima's reputation as a fearsome delinquent still lingered in many minds of the students even though he's already around for approximately 2 and a half year at Yagami High School. It's tough to sterilize an already pre-established image of oneself, supposedly.

…

"Discussing the script?" Nara asked. "That means you don't have any plans to shoot any scenes yet?"

"Not yet." Harima answered. "Well, today I suppose probably we're going to discuss that too."

"O-------kay, then…" Yoshidayama mumbled.

"Okay then what?" Harima asked. There was something in the way Yoshidayama mumbled that Harima somehow recognized. It was the same tone of speaking he used when he talked to Itoko. The only time he added the suffix –san behind her name. The only time when he…

…

"I guess it's okay if we ask you a favour then, Harima-sama." Yoshidayama continued.

…

…wanted something or some help from her…

…

Harima should have known this from the beginning. Not even Yoshidayama would greet him with such way without any hidden intentions following immediately behind.

…

…Well, perhaps he would just allow them to speak. No harm in just listening, and having people calling your name with –sama in the morning like this was kind of amusing, anyway.

…

"Help?" Harima said, adjusting his tone so that he spoke like he was some sort a high noble or something. "What kind of help?"

"…It's not much…" this time Nara spoke out. "It's just that for Sasakura-sensei's project, we're making an action-adventure movie…"

Harima raised one of his eyebrows.

"Action adventure?" he said. "You guys don't make any dramas?"

"No, no, no." Nara quickly shook his head. "First of all, Nishimoto-kun suggested that since most of the teams participating on this contest would most likely be making a drama movie, it would be best for us to create something entirely different. Something that would stand out compared to the rest of the participants."

"Ho…"

"Yeah, that's the basic idea." Yoshidayama added. "Besides, all members of our team are guys…"

"You don't have any girls on your team?" Harima exclaimed; he was a bit surprised. He didn't notice this before. "Why?"

He didn't realize that his question unleashed lots and lots of deadly and painful arrows straight upon Yoshidayama and Nara's hearts, though both of them did a fairly good job at hiding their sudden throbbing pain in front of him.

…

"N…no, no…" Yoshidayama said heavily. "We're a team made exclusively of guys…"

"Y…yeah." Nara said. "We're thinking that having an all-guys team would give us a better chance to create a kick-ass movie…, um…, something like that."

"…Strange reasoning." Harima mumbled. "But whatever floats your boat, I suppose."

"Yes, well…" Yoshidayama continued quickly—he didn't seem eager to continue talking about the reason why there were no girls on his team, "Like I said, all members of our team are guys, and frankly speaking, guys lack that… something…, in their imagination that would allow them to create good dramatic, romantic stories…"

"…So we figure why bother trying to push ourselves to create such movies?" Nara added. "We'd better stick to what guys do best for a project like this: action-adventure movies."

"Well, whatever…" Harima said, waving his hand. It's not like this was his business at the first place anyways.

…

"So," he continued. "What kind of favour did you say earlier about?"

"O…oh, oh yes, that…." Yoshidayama said awkwardly. "Well, we were wondering if you'd be as kind as to help us with our, um, li----ttle problem…"

"Which is?" Harima asked.

It wouldn't take long for them to arrive in front of their class right now.

"Well…" Nara continued where Yoshidayama left off. "To cut things short, we…, don't…, have, enough…, _actors_…, for our movie."

"Actors?" Harima enquired.

"Yes…, actors…" Yoshidayama continued. "Almost all of the main cast have already been covered…"

"Who's playing them?" Harima asked.

"Well…" Nara scratched his head. "…Nearly all of the characters required were played by our own team members. And a single person could act as two or more characters at once if needed…"

"I see." Harima said understandingly. "So, what kind of help would you like me to do for you guys?"

"Well, we are one actor short for one particular character…" Nara said sheepishly, as if he was afraid Harima might punch him out of the blue or something. "A very important one."

"…The thing is, no one coming from our team was appropriate for the task to handle the job." Yoshidayama continued, nervously interlocking his own fingers. "The character is very specialized, only few people would be able to cast his image perfectly on the screen—or so Nishimoto-kun said to our team."

…

They have arrived on the front of their class. Before entering through the door, however, Harima turned his face to Yoshidayama and Nara and said,

"Look, skip the explanation." he demanded. "Just get straight to the point."

"…W…, Well…" this time Nara spoke out. "…There's only one person we could think of that could act the problematic character nicely…, and, well…"

"Frankly speaking…, that person is _you_, Harima-sama." Yoshidayama completed Nara's sentence.

…

"_Me_?" Harima exclaimed with one of his eyebrows rose, while pointing a finger at himself.

Yoshidayama and Nara nodded together at the same time.

"Yes." Nara said. "At least, that was what our team has deduced."

"So _you_ want _me_ to play an important character on your movie?" Harima asked incredulously. "Playing at someone else's movie while I have _my_ own movie to deal with?"

"We know that, we know that!" Nara said hastily. "That is why Nishimoto-kun said that he would be more than inclined to give you _incentives_ to compensate for your _probable_ problems!"

"Incentives?" Harima said.

"Yes." Yoshidayama quickly added. "Free full membership at his video rental store, plus free rental fee for _one year_, no limitations!"

"I rarely watch video." Harima said flatly. "So that offer really doesn't interest me much."

"…He, he, also said that the members of the team would be paying your entire lunch at school for the rest of the year!" Nara said quickly.

"Wha…?" Yoshidayama said, surprised, but Nara quickly nudged him on the rib.

…

_Well_, _this is getting interesting_…, Harima thought to himself.

A free lunch everyday for him would be something too good to pass on just like that…

…

"And…?" Harima said, baiting for more. "That's all? Working for two movies at once is going to be _really_ tiring, you know."

"W…well…" Nara nervously stared at Yoshidayama, who also nervously staring back at him. It seemed like they were trying to trade whatever it was in their mind by exchanging looks like that.

…

"W…, well…" Nara said thoughtfully. "We could…"

It was then a sudden realization hit Nara on the spot. Why didn't he think about this sooner?

If there was something good about the beach trip he once travelled with Harima and the rest of the gang, it was that he knew something very important about Harima—something that he could use to his advantage at the current situation.

Harima's weak point… Something that he wouldn't refuse…

…

Nara actually didn't like having to resort to this, but he (and Yoshidayama) seemingly didn't have any other choice.

…

"We would spread good words about you on the school." Nara quickly blurted out what's on his mind.

"…Good… words?" Harima once again raised one of his eyebrows.

Yoshidayama cast that What-The-Hell-Are-You-Saying look to Nara, but Nara ignored it and continued his sentence nevertheless,

"Yes, yes." he said. "Good words about how Harima-sama is the kindest person on the entire school. The kind of person that would never abandon his friends in need… A person that would always reach out his hands whenever anyone is desperate for help…"

…

It seemed that both Harima and Yoshidayama were puzzled at the same time by Nara's uncharacteristic statement. They were both staring at him in confusion.

"Uhm." Nara coughed a little. "And I do believe that our fellow classmates would certainly look at a person as kind as that with admiration and respect. You would be a person our fellow classmates could look up too, Harima-sama."

"Yeah?" Harima said, unable to understand the direction of this conversation would take. "So what?"

"Well…" Nara coughed a little again. "_Our fellow classmates_; and that include me, Yoshidayama-kun, Nishimoto-kun, our team-mates, and of course, _other_ team-mates; such as Sawachika-kun, Takano-kun, Suou-kun, and _even_ Tsukamoto-kun…"

…

……

Nara stared Harima's face directly, to assess the influence of his statement on Harima.

Yoshidayama, who couldn't get a hair as to what Nara's intention was, following Nara, steered his eyes towards Harima.

…

What he saw there—well, simply put, it surprised him.

…

…Harima has grinned himself like an idiot.

Truly; a wide, wide, _wide_, grin now streaked along his face. The kind of grin that anyone would use on their face when they somehow able to gain something _really_ nice.

Yoshidayama tried to speak a word to Harima, but even he knew that Harima wouldn't want to be disturbed right now, not right when he's still in his own happy-happy-fantasy land.

…

_Well_…, Harima thought to himself. _This doesn_'_t seem like a bad idea after all_…

_If words spread out that I am a good man_, _a man that would help his friends in need_, _a man that would never abandon the cries of help from the common folks_…

Harima stared at his definition of the 'common folks'.

…

_Even Tenma_-_chan wouldn_'_t be able to ignore that_…, _right_? _And working in two movies at once shouldn_'_t be a problem for a guy like me_. _I've heard that many famous artists do that all the time_, _going after several jobs at once_…

_If those artists could do it_, _than so am I_…

…

Yoshidayama and Nara both glanced nervously at Harima, and to each other. They couldn't figure it out from Harima's thinking face whether he was inclined to accept their offer or not.

…

……

After what seemingly forever for them, Harima finally stopped his thinking face and said confidently to both of them,

"Fine." he said, shortly but clearly. "I'll do it."

Yoshidayama's eyes grew larger. It appeared that he didn't quite believe Harima just said what he just said.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Harima said to Yoshidayama. "I said that I would help you! Isn't that what you want me to do?"

"Of course, of course!" Nara said conspicuously, nodding his head with such speed that one could wonder why his neck didn't break or something. "Thank you very much, Harima-sama!"

Harima grinned widely.

"In fact!" Harima said, trying to boost his image of a "wonderful person" even further, "Just forget about the free lunch and that free membership or whatever. I am not the kind of person that likes to help his friends just for benefits."

Yoshidayama's eyes grew even larger, they might just popped out any seconds now.

Nara bowed himself, saying, "Thank you, thank you." multiple times.

"So…" Harima scratched his head. "What kind of character would you like me to play?"

"Oh, oh, a _cool _one, of course!" Yoshidayama quickly snapped out from his amazement and answered Harima's question. "You will be playing a handsome, popular-for-all character. He is undoubtedly a very cool character!"

"That's _cool_." Harima said, happily. "When do you guys want me to help you?"

"Oh, we are going to shoot some of our scenes two days from now at Yagami Park." Nara said quickly. "We are going to do it in the morning, around 9 or so. You don't have to worry about costumes or anything, Harima-ku…I mean, Harima-_sama_. You just need to bring yourself there…"

"What about the script?" Harima said. "Don't I have to memorize some script or anything before we do the filming?"

"Don't worry about that, Harima-sama." this time Yoshidayama spoke. "The script for your character is so easy, most probably you could memorize it in a flash. Remember, our movie is an action-adventure one, so more action than talk."

"Okay, cool." Harima nodded his head. "The day after tomorrow, Yagami Park at 9, then."

…

Harima opened the class door, and entered inside, followed by Yoshidayama and Nara.

There's a lot of people inside already, but the situation was rather calm (well, by 2-C's standards, anyway), because everybody was seemingly busy discussing something over with everybody. No one playing throw ball or throwing paper planes or anything like that.

…

"How could you do that?" Yoshidayama leaned himself near Nara, whispering to his direction by the time Harima already away at a safe distance.

"Do what?" Nara said.

"Convincing that devil to help us on our movie project!" Yoshidayama exclaimed.

"Well…" Nara mumbled.

His eyes scanned the entire class, before stopping right at the sight at Tenma, sitting on her chair, seemingly busy reading something.

…

"Well…" Nara said slowly, his eyes transfixed into Tenma. "I guess not even Harima-kun is able to resist extremely cute things…"

* * *

The school was over for today, and according to the plan, Tenma's team would finally commence their second meeting for deciding whose script they would finally use for Sasakura-sensei's movie project.

However, due to the prohibitions of talking too loudly in the school library (even if there's nobody around but you and the books), and discussions tend to make a _lot_ of noise, Tenma's team has decided to move their second meeting about the script into a different location.

…

"But where to?" Eri asked.

…

Like Tenma, black marks were visible under her eyes, signifying that she too, didn't have the chance to sleep properly the night before. Most probably because she was busy finalizing her share of the script. There were black marks under Mikoto's eyes too—she must have suffered the same fate. Strangely though, Imadori, which according to his yesterday encounter with Harima, didn't actually write anything until yesterday noon—he didn't seem sleepy at all. He seemed energetic as usual. Perhaps he did able to write off his share of script very quickly in just one day flat?

…

"How about Miko----chin's place?" Imadori suggested with his usual playful tone, with a hint of eagerness inside his voice.

"No." Mikoto said flatly. "No way. My family is usually too loud, even when they're not doing anything at all. We wouldn't be able to focus if we gather in my house."

…_and _she _definitely_ wouldn't want Imadori prancing around inside her house spouting Miko-chin and Miko-chin all over the place. God only knows what sort of trouble that thing would cause.

…

"…How about Tsukamoto's house?" Harima said hastily, barely containing his excitement because of this sudden development of things. This might probably be the chance for him to visit Tenma's house—or better yet, Tenma's room!

"My house?" Tenma asked.

"Yes." Harima nodded enthusiastically. "There's only you and Imouto-san in there, correct? The atmosphere would be perfect for us to discuss things up!"

"I agree!" Hanai said extravagantly, pointing his index finger to Harima. "Tsukamoto-kun's house must be an ideal place for us to do a bit of brainstorming! I am _most definitely_ agreed with you, Harima!"

"How could you know that, when you've never even been there, Hanai…" Mikoto said, shaking her head silly.

Of course, she—and pretty much everybody else, actually—knew that the reason why he vehemently agreeing with the suggestion was because visiting Tenma's house would give him the chance to meet with Yakumo.

…

"I see no problem with the idea." Akira said unconcernedly. "Tenma's house is quite spacious, and there are only Tenma and Yakumo there. I think it is a good place for us to discuss things up. No one will bother us there."

_Well said_, _Takano_! Harima cheered inside his mind.

…

"Well, if you say it that way, then my house is okay too." Eri explained.

_Gah_, _be quiet Ojou_! Harima grunted inside his mind.

…

"Yeah, but Tsukamoto's house is closer to the school." Mikoto contemplated. "It's probably a better idea to go there for our discussion. Besides, the atmosphere there is quiet and soothing, nice for a meeting…"

_Awesome_, _Suou_! Harima yelled inside his mind.

…

Eri shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine." she said shortly.

"I will go where Miko-chin goes!" Imadori said cheerfully—apparently unaware that the team wouldn't exactly use his opinion as a decisive factor over this thing anyway. "So I am okay with Tenma-chan's house!"

Tenma put her index finger on her chin, her face slightly went up.

…

"Hmm…" she said. "I am okay with it, I guess, but Yakumo said this morning that her team will go to our place today to discuss their part of the movie project. What do you all think?"

"They could use the first floor!" Harima said quickly. "While we could use the second floor; how's that?"

_Tenma_-_chan_'_s room is in the second floor_, _right_, _right_?

"How about your room, Tenma-chan?" Imadori asked.

_Awesome, Imadori_! Harima cheered because Imadori just strike gold.

…

"My room? I suppose…" Tenma said, contemplating herself. "But my room is a bit small for seven people. It would be too cramped…"

"It's fine." Akira said composedly. "From my estimation, your room will be sufficient enough for seven of us. All we need to do is just pushing the furniture here and there a bit. It will be enough."

…Right at this moment Harima decided that he would someday build an Akira Statue right in the middle of the city, honouring her magnificent contribution to the day where he would finally able to visit Tenma's room.

"And who is going to push the furniture here and there?" Eri asked, a bit apprehensive.

"Why, the boys would be the ones who do that—who else?" Akira replied.

"Leave it to me!" Harima said, he was all fired up. A little sweat from moving furniture a bit here and there would mean nothing if by that he could have the chance to stand inside Tenma's room!

"A----ww, do I have to do it also?" Imadori whined.

"Leave it to us boys!" Hanai said proudly, pounding his chest. He too, like Harima, was so all for visiting Tenma's house, though for a completely different reason altogether.

_Maybe I could eat Yakumo_-_kun_'_s hand_-_made cooking while I am there_! _Lucky_!

…

"Well, okay then." Tenma nodded. "If everybody is okay with it, I guess I really don't have any problems with it."

…

Mikoto glanced at her wrist-watch.

"We'd better go now." she said, and the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I am home!" Tenma shouted her arrival at Tsukamoto's house. She took off her shoes and put them neatly inside the shoe rack near the entrance, and entering the house, with the rest of her entourage followed suit.

The girls—that's Akira, Mikoto, and Eri—entered Tenma's house without showing any special emotions or whatever, since that they have already been here a couple of times.

The boys, on the other hand, were a completely different matter altogether.

…

Harima, although he had already been outside Tsukamoto's house once (when he once part-timed as an AC installer—and incidentally, Tenma never knew about this), he never before entered this house in the inside. Normally merely entering a house wouldn't make Harima all fired up, but since this was the house of her most beloved, of course things would be different.

He entered this house as if he entered heaven's gate or something. Tears of joy streamed down from his eyes, his heart was thumping hard, and he barely able to contain the pressure of not to yell "Oh YEAH!" out loud.

If he was about to explode entering Tenma's house, one could only imagine what would happen when he enters Tenma's room next. Maybe he would explode for real…

…

Hanai had also never been to Tsukamoto's house before. And since this also was the house of his most beloved, Tsukamoto Yakumo, Hanai entered this place with the similar blissful look on his face just like Harima. His eyes were busy staring off at nearly all objects he could see inside the residence. Like, "Oh, so this is where Yakumo-kun put down her shoes!" when he saw the shoe rack. Or, "Oh, so this is where Yakumo-kun watched television shows!" when Tenma told him and the rest of the entourage to wait in the living room while she's looking for Yakumo.

And since visiting Tsukamoto's house _might_ give him the chance to eat Yakumo's hand-made foods (something that he always yearned for but somehow still elusively escaped his grasps until probably now), he was literally trembling with excitement now.

…

As for Imadori, well—it's true that he was not as excited as Harima or Hanai, but entering Tsukamoto's house seemed also pique his interest, even if it's only for a little bit. Not because he was obsessed with Tenma or Yakumo or anything, but more likely because now he's inside a place where girls were the only residents. Maybe he wanted to use this opportunity as a study material for his girl study or something.

…

"Stop looking around like an idiot!" Mikoto said to Hanai, smacking his head a little. "It's not like we're inside a museum or anything!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Hanai said, scratching his head. "But I couldn't help it! This is where Yakumo-kun lives! Oh, this room is so full of Yakumo-kun's scent it's marvellous!"

…

While Mikoto was busy reprimanding Hanai for his erratic behaviour, Eri stared at Harima.

She raised one of her eyebrows looking at the seemingly very enthusiastic Harima. Hanai, she could understand, but why that stupid Hige acting like he was some sort of a child in an amusement park or something?

…

However, before Eri could come up with an answer, the sliding door of the living room opened, and behind it stood both Tenma and Yakumo; the latter was still wearing her school uniform.

"It seems like we indeed need to get to my room after all, guys!" Tenma exclaimed. "The first floor has been booked by Yakumo and her team!"

_YES_! Harima screamed in his mind. _Thank YOU_, _Imouto_-_san_!

…

"I am sorry for the trouble…" Yakumo said softly, bowing herself a little to the rest of Tenma's team.

"No problem." Akira said shortly. "Sara came here also?"

Yakumo nodded her head.

"But Nee-san, will your room fit for seven people?" Yakumo said worriedly. "It would seem that it's going to be a bit cramped…"

"No worries, no worries!" Tenma clapped on her sister's shoulder. "It will fit fine, don't worry. You'd better go back to your team, Yakumo—it appears like you're in the middle of an important discussion or something."

"Ah…" Yakumo said. "But first I should prepare something for you all…"

This sentence from Yakumo perked Hanai's ears up.

_Finally_! he said enthusiastically. _I get to eat Yakumo_-_kun_'_s home_-_made cooking_!

_YEAH_!

…

Of course, Yakumo could see what Hanai was thinking, because those exact words were floating around his head as clear as day for her eyes to see. But at this moment, she was already very familiar with words floating around Hanai-sempai's head that her reaction about it was pretty much indifferent.

…

"Don't bother." this time Eri spoke. "You're in the middle of discussion with your group too, right? We don't want to disturb you guys or anything."

"Oh no, no, it would be fine." Yakumo said, rather hastily. She stared at her sister. "You will be discussing things in your room, right, Nee-san? I will make something for all of you and then bring them over to your room later."

This simple announcement from Yakumo successfully perked Hanai's ears even further.

"Well, okay then, Yakumo." Tenma said cheerfully. "Make something delicious for _us_, okay?" She winked teasingly.

"No problem…" Yakumo replied, with a faint smile, apparently unsure what was the meaning behind her sister's wink.

She turned herself to the rest of the team and once again bowed a little.

"Well, good luck on your script discussion, Suou-sempai, Sawachika-sempai, Takano-sempai, Imadori-sempai, and Harima-san…" she said politely. "Excuse me…"

"Yeah, thanks." Mikoto said, waving her hand.

With that, Yakumo went off from the living room.

…

"Well then!" Tenma said cheerfully, clapping her hands. "We shouldn't lose to Yakumo's team! Let us not waste time any longer! Come on, let's go to my room!"

"Yeah!" Harima said loudly. "Let's go!"

Imadori, Hanai, and Mikoto stood up, following Tenma and Harima, walked out from the living room.

…

By the time Eri started to stand up, all of the sudden she heard Akira mumbled something out from the corners of her mouth.

"That's _interesting_." she said faintly, but audible enough for Eri to hear.

Eri turned her attention to Akira, because there was something about the way Akira said that somehow tackled her mind.

…

"What's _interesting_?" she said.

Akira shook her head as she also stood up.

"Nothing." she said. "Come on, we should follow the others."

Eri was not satisfied by Akira's answer, because she felt that there was _definitely _something behind Akira's previous words.

But she also knew that the one she's facing right now _is _Akira, and if Akira has decided not to spill anything on her mind, then there would be no chance for her to know anything about it.

So, while suppressing her curiosity, Eri followed Akira walking to Tenma's room.

* * *

Contrary to what Tenma thought before, her room was actually quite spacious to house even seven people inside. The only 'moving furniture here and there' that must be done was only moving the table at the centre of the room to the side.

Besides that, the room was alright. Eri and Mikoto sat on the bed, Tenma sat in front of the bed, Imadori sat on the chair next to Tenma's study desk, Akira and Hanai sat near the window, and finally Harima sat near the door.

…

"So!" Tenma said cheerfully, opening her school bag. She took a stack of papers from inside it. "Let's us now commence the unveiling of the scripts!"

Eri, Hanai, Mikoto, Akira, and Imadori each took their own respective scripts from their bags. While Eri and Mikoto took out their scripts with a hint of embarrassment on their face (probably because they thought that they didn't create a very good script), Hanai and Imadori took out their scripts confidently—while Akira took out her script casually.

"Well!" Tenma exclaimed. "Now, let us…"

She stopped mid-sentence, because when she looked at Harima, she noticed that he didn't take his script out at all. In fact, it seemed like he's in the middle of doing _nothing_ at all. It was like he's in the middle of a very deep reverie.

"Harima-kun?" Tenma said, trying to catch Harima's attention.

…

_Oooooh_…, _so this is Tenma_-_chan_'_s room_……

…

"Harima-kun?" Tenma said once again, a bit louder than before.

…

_It is so filled with Tenma_-_chan_'_s scent everywhere_… _so wonderful_…

…

"Harima-kun!" Tenma exclaimed.

…

_Oooh_, _this is a dream comes true_…, _I am really inside Tenma_-_chan_'_s room_…

…

-BRUGH!-

Before Tenma could call Harima once again, a pillow flew fast from the direction of the bed and land successfully hard squarely at Harima's face.

It took his brain a few seconds to realize what just happened to him, and almost immediately he steered his away to the direction where the throw originated.

From the looks of things, it was clear who the perpetrator was: it was none other than Sawachika Eri.

"What are you doing?" Harima said, a bit louder than usual.

"What am _I _doing?" Eri said, raising her voice a bit. "What are _you_ doing, daydreaming like an idiot like that? You don't even respond when Tenma here was calling you over and over again!"

Harima wanted to retort back, but then he realized what just happened. He suddenly realized that Ojou was indeed correct, that he was daydreaming like an idiot before, and that he pretty much ignored Tenma's calling his name.

…

He immediately turned his attention from Eri to Tenma.

"I… I am sorry." he said apologetically. "I got…lost on some thought."

"It's okay!" Tenma waved her hand.

She laughed softly.

"I bet you're just imagining about Yakumo's hand-made cooking, right? You two _are_ such a lovey-dovey _couple_!" she said happily. "Don't worry, don't worry, Harima-kun! She should carry it to this room in a short while, so you don't have to think about it much, okay? You just need to hold your appetite for a moment!"

Tenma continued to laugh heartily, unaware that her statement had successfully ignite different reactions from different people inside the room…

…

The first, most obvious reaction came from Harima himself, who was suddenly thrown into a some sort of an awkward dilemma—saying yes to Tenma's assessment would only strengthen Tenma's misconception about his true nature of relationship with Imouto-san, while saying no means that he had to explain what he was actually thinking during his daydream—which, of course, a major No-No.

So in the end, he could only laugh awkwardly.

…

The second reaction came from Hanai, who was both annoyed, _and_ excited at the same time. He was annoyed because Tenma was insinuating that Harima-Yakumo was actually still in effect, and excited because from what Tenma just said, he knew that he's about to eat Yakumo's hand-made foods, something that he could only dream of for a long, long, time. He didn't seem able to choose what kind of expression he should use, annoyed or excited, and ended up showing a rather silly, confused, face.

…

The third reaction came from Eri. She stared quizzically at Tenma, and when her eyes moved to Harima, her eyebrows furrowed. She then stared back and forth from Tenma, to Harima, to Tenma, to Harima, before finally she returned to her normal composure. It didn't end just like that, though, because she was tapping her fingers on the surface of the bed with impatient moves, and anyone who gave a good look on her face would most certainly know that there was something inside her head that bothered her.

…

The rest of the reactions were not as transparent as the others, though perhaps not less significant. Mikoto steered her eyes towards Tenma, to Harima, to Eri, to Hanai, and sighed a little. Akira kept silent, and actually managed to pull of a relatively composed stature throughout the entire ordeal—though the most attentive of person would probably have noticed that she moved her mouth just a little to speak out a barely audible, "Well, this is _also_ interesting."

…

Imadori—well, of all the people inside Tenma's room, it appeared that he was the only one who didn't realize that the atmosphere around him has changed, even if it's only for a bit. He kept staring around Tenma's room, while occasionally humming Dojibiron's theme song. This is probably what they called the bliss of the ignorant.

…

"Right, then!" Tenma clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Harima-kun, let us see your script!"

"O…, oh yes, of course." Harima said. "The script."

He opened his school bag and took a stack of papers from inside it. Compared to Tenma's, it seemed that his script was a bit longer and bigger.

"Okay!" Tenma said again. "So, who's going to start first?"

* * *

At around the same moment, on the first floor of the Tsukamoto's house, at the room where Tenma and the gang did a sleepover party a long time ago, Yakumo and the rest of the team were busy discussing over their problems for their own movie project. Well, maybe the more correct statement would be _some people_ from the team were busy discussing their problems.

…

"Now, I think that it would be best if in this scene we use a little more dignity for the heroine's side!" Satsuki said heatedly. "After all, she just found out that her own fiancée cheated on her—its just common sense that she shouldn't allow him to apologize and just say let bygones be bygones!"

"Well, true, but don't you think that it would be better if we make our main character as a person who, let's just say, an embodiment of an angel?" said the boy that was currently debating with her. "The audience would love that kind of character: wins people heart, they say."

"I disagree!" Inaba said whole-heartedly. "It is not like an angel to accept that kind of apology, it is more like stupidity!"

…

And off they go, debating and debating endlessly.

Yakumo's team consisted of herself, Sara, Inaba, Satsuki, Haruna Tougo, and two other guys from her class. The ones currently active in the debate were Inaba, Satsuki, and the guys. Yakumo, Sara, and Haruna just watched from the sidelines—perhaps they thought that participating in a heated debate between hard-headed people like that would pretty much useless. Whatever decisions might ensue from there, they would follow them anyways.

…

"Inaba-san is so spirited." Sara commented, after seeing Inaba shook her head hastily after she heard the argument from one of the guys she debated.

Sara took one of the cookies Yakumo brought for the team at the start of the meeting. The cookies were not that sophisticated, but certainly tasteful and delicious.

"Yes." Haruna nodded. She drank her tea—unlike her somewhat boastful and loud (or, some perhaps would say, _irritating_) brother, she was a completely composed person. Tactful, graceful—it was as if every moves coming from her were all carefully pre-planned and coordinated. Even the way she picked up her glass and poured the tea into her mouth was somewhat princess-like. She was the complete total opposite from Tougo. "But that's the kind of person she is, right? Satsuki-san too."

"I guess…" Yakumo said softly.

…

It's true, though, that Inaba-san and Satsuki-san were really that kind of person. She sort of envied them because of that: she wished that she could get even just a splash of their attitude so that she could be a lot more open in front of people—so that she could talk with her opposite gender without backing off.

…But then again, she thought to herself, if Inaba-san and Satsuki-san could read minds like she did, maybe they would act the same as her… Being able to read people minds, to know what exactly they think about you when they're talking with you—although that kind of power at times could prove to be useful, most of the time Yakumo felt that if only she didn't have that kind of power, maybe she could be a more open person like both of her friends or her Nee-san.

…

……

Yakumo sighed a little.

…_Now what am I doing_, _blaming my powers for my own inadequacies_…, she thought to herself.

There must be a reason why she had that kind of power.

Perhaps one day she could find it…, and perhaps after that, she would be able to change herself into a different person…, a better person…

…

"Yakumo?" Sara said, staring at Yakumo with a bit of a worried look on her face. "What's wrong? You are spacing out."

"Oh… nothing…" Yakumo replied softly. "Sorry."

"Don't make a habit of spacing out too often, Yakumo." Haruna said, giggling a little. "It doesn't really suit well with your princess image, you know!"

Yakumo's cheeks flushed a little, while Sara laughed softly.

…

_Anyway_, Yakumo thought to herself, as she suddenly remembered her Nee-san's guests. _I should bring something to Nee_-_san_'_s room right now_…

She stared at the still debating Inaba-Satsuki-The Guys.

From the way they debating each other right now, it's going to take a while before they could wrap things up. She figured that she should have enough time to prepare something for Tenma's guests in the meanwhile.

…

Yakumo stood up.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sara asked. "Getting more cookies?"

"No…" Yakumo said, smiling. "I need to prepare something for the Sempais up there. I think I might just cook something for them—nothing too fancy, though."

"Need help?" Haruna asked.

Yakumo shook her head slowly.

"No, thanks." she said. "Like I said, nothing too fancy—I can do it on my own. I'd be back in a bit—tell them about me if they ask, okay?" Yakumo pointed at the debate team.

"I am not even sure that they would notice you're gone, Yakumo." Sara said as she was staring at Tawaraya and the co. "Maybe they wouldn't even notice if a truck crashed into your house or something."

Haruna laughed softly from that witty remark from Sara, while Yakumo just smiled.

"But don't you need someone to help you carrying over your cooking upstairs later?" Sara asked. "You just can't bring foods and drinks for seven people that easily, you know."

Yakumo gave this a thought for a moment.

"Tell you what, Yakumo." Sara said again, clapping her hands. "You go and make them something. By the time you finished, give me a call and I'll help you carrying it upstairs."

"Yes." Haruna added. "I'll help too, Tsukamoto-san."

"Right, thanks." Yakumo said, smiling once again. "If you'll excuse me, then."

With that, Yakumo took off from the room to go to the kitchen, to begin her preparations.

…

……

"You know…" Haruna said when Yakumo was already out from the area, as she picked one of the cookies and shove it into her mouth (in a graceful, princess-like manner, of course), "Don't you think it's a bit unfair?"

"What?" Sara replied, picking up another cookie of her own.

"Well…" Haruna continued. "We arrived here first, we are her team members, we are her classmates, yet all we get are these cookies… not that I don't like them, of course."

Sara giggled a little.

"Yet she said that she'd prepare something for the Sempais up there…" Haruna took another cookie. "I wish she'd 'prepare' something for us too. I bet Yakumo's hand-made cooking is delicious. She even seemed somewhat determined not to let us help her on her cooking."

"Oh yes, they _are _delicious." Sara said, nodding her head. "Heavenly. Anyway, I suppose it cannot be helped. Amongst Tsukamoto-kun's entourage, there _is_ someone that at least _deserved_ the right to eat Yakumo's hand-made cooking, right? I bet Yakumo is thinking that way too, though perhaps she didn't realize it herself."

"Someone that deserved…?" Haruna said slowly, raising one of her eyebrows.

Then, not a moment too long after that, she said, "Oh!", as if something suddenly just dawned on her mind.

"Right?" Sara said cheerfully. "So, I suppose we just have to content with the cookies."

"Well…" Haruna said slowly, with a smile on her face. "At least I _do_ like cookies…"

* * *

"So, who wants to go first?" Tenma said cheerfully.

The current dwellers inside Tenma's room immediately started to stare at each other.

It would appear that almost all of them felt some sort of hesitation of having to grace the honour of opening this meeting by presenting their script at the first order. Even the usually proud Hanai and Harima were seem a bit hesitant (though before they whipped out their scripts confidently): letting others to judge something that you created so hard was certainly a difficult thing to do: you just afraid that in the end that those 'the others' might just make a judgment that flushed your entire hard work down to the toilet.

…

……

"What about you, Tenma?" Eri said, after for about two minutes no one came forward. "Why don't you go first?"

"Oh, no, no, no." Tenma laughed apologetically. "No. I mean, I am_ quite_ confident with my script; but no, Eri-chan, I don't want to go first. I mean, I am not _that _confident."

"Well, someone must go first otherwise this meeting won't start." Mikoto said, sighing. "Oh, by the way, I think, just to be fair, the decision on whose script would be used for our play should be done by the majority vote."

"And!" this time Hanai spoke. "We vote _after_ we see the whole seven scripts!"

"But the author shouldn't be able to vote his/her own script." Akira added casually.

"Agreed." Eri added. "But Mikoto was right; someone _must_ start right this meeting right now."

"What about _you_?" Harima said, his tone a bit sharp—this was usually the tone he used when he's addressing Eri, which—interestingly—he rarely, if ever, used when he's addressing someone else.

"No, thanks." Eri shook her head. "What about _you_?"

"I'd love to." Harima replied, with his head held a bit high. "But I would prefer to give the chance as the first person to someone else. In fact, I think I'll just be the last."

…

_That way it would be more dramatic when I unveil my script_, _heheheh_…

He grinned like he was some sort of a mystery villain in a thriller movie or something.

…

"What about you, Imadori?" Mikoto said, looking at Imadori. He was unusually quiet from the moment he entered this house until now. In fact, she hasn't heard he muttered a single word from that moment, just his usual humming of that strange song she vaguely recognized. If it was Imadori, 'silent' was most definitely _not _something he usually do.

"Eh?" Imadori turned his attention to Mikoto—he was just looking around Tenma's room the moment before. "What about me, Miko-chin?"

…

Mikoto sighed a little.

…

It seemed that he didn't realize what was happening around him, and was swimming all by himself in his own world just until she called for his name. It was so typical for this guy—although sometimes she envied that kind of attitude.

"Why don't you show us your script?" Mikoto asked.

"Oh, all right!" Imadori said, seemingly without even having a second thought. He answered it so casually that it was kind of surprising for everyone inside the room, most especially Harima.

…

_He just made it yesterday_, Harima thought to himself. _From where did that fool get his confidence_?

…_Heh_, _most probably he would end up doing something stupid anyway_…

Harima decided that he should just sit back and enjoy the show. No matter how it would turn out in the end, Imadori stepping forward might be a good thing to have since it would ease the tense atmosphere in this room for a bit.

…

Imadori flaunted the stack of papers he held with his right hand. "But I forgot to copy my work. How should I show it to you guys?"

"How could you forget to copy your work?" Mikoto said incredulously. "Maybe you forgot about there are six other people besides you in your team?"

"Aww, don't be so cruel, Miko-chin." Imadori said, in a child-like manner. "I am just too focused on creating this script that I have forgotten about practically everything else… Sorry?"

Mikoto sighed once again. Trying to counsel Imadori about something had the same successful chance as trying to jump to the moon using your bare foot.

…

"Is there anyone else forgot to copy your script?" Hanai asked.

No body answered, which means that only Imadori actually forgot to do that task.

"Lookie, I am sorry, okay?" Imadori said with a seemingly serious tone, although if you were to stare at his face you would most definitely have a hard time to consider him seriously. "What should I do then?"

"Just read it." Eri said shortly. "And just read what you think as the most interesting part of your script, to save time."

…

"Well, all right, that's a good idea." Imadori stared at his script, opening its pages one by one. "I should just read the most interesting part, yeah? Well, it will be kind of hard to do since _all_ of my script is interesting…"

No one commented on that self-praise statement.

…

"Ah, well, maybe from this scene, then…" he said, tapping a page on his script.

"All right—here we go…" Imadori inhaled his breath deeply, and spoke,

….

**THE DEFENDERS OF THE LOVE**

…

"……That's two 'the' right there…" Akira mumbled softly.

…

**CREATED BY: IMADORI KYOUSUKE, OF COURSE!**

**STARRING: IMADORI KYOUSUKE & SUOU MIKOTO, WITH EVERYONE ELSE A.K.A. THE SIDEKICKS!**

…

"Now wait a…" Mikoto raised her voice to protest, but Eri held her hand and put a finger to her own lips.

"Ssshh!" Eri said to Mikoto. "Just ignore it for a while, okay? This _might_ be interesting!"

The corners of Eri's mouth were twitching.

"Interesting for _you_, maybe!" Mikoto said accusingly.

But in the end she didn't do anything. Maybe she decided it would be best if she just punched him when he's done.

…

**ACT THREE**

**-THE ARRIVAL OF THE DEFENDERS OF THE LOVE-**

……

"……That's three 'the' right there…" Akira said slowly.

…

_The beautiful blue_-_haired princess was staring at the view from the veranda outside her room_, _on the second floor of her mansion_.

_Though the view was beautiful_, _though the view was wonderful_, _it didn_'_t have the power necessary to sweep away the quiet sadness and deep loneliness from inside her beautiful_, _beautiful eyes_.

_The sun was setting down ever so slowly_, _painting the sky with the beautiful yet solemn colours of the dawn_. _Everything on the earth was seemingly so silent and quiet_. _It was as if the whole world itself was aggravating together with the princess inside a deep_, _isolated sanctuary of sadness_, _and solitude_.

…

Hey, this guy is quite good with words, Harima thought, a bit surprised.

The one getting surprised was not just him, though. Virtually everyone inside Tenma's room was showing a bit of a shocked expression on their faces, especially Mikoto, who certainly didn't expect that Imadori could come up with something as poetic as _that_. In fact, the last time he tried to say something "poetic" to her, he ended up flying through the roof thanks to her super-human punch.

Even Akira seemed somewhat intrigued.

…

……

_The night has dawned_, _the sun has gone_.

_Slowly but surely_, _the dreamy reddish dawn sky was replaced with the black yet majestic night sky_. _The moon has finally decided that it_'_s time for it to show up_, _to do its job_, _to illuminate the Earth so that no one could ever get lost amidst the darkness of the night_, _so that no one should ever felt afraid because the shining sun has gone to its slumber_.

_And the moon was not alone in its duty_. _The sky would be too empty if it was only the moon clinging up there_. _So the moon asked its friends_, _the stars_, _to accompany it_; _to help sharing their brilliant sparkling light to shine upon the Earth_, _to push away the dark and reap away through the unseen_.

_Yet even as those events of the nature unfolded_, _the beautiful blue_-_haired princess was still adorned with sadness as clear as a reflection in a crystal_. _What caused her to grieve like that_? _What contemplation did she have on her mind that led her to stand alone on her solitude like that_?

"_Milady_, _Princess Miko_-_chin_…" _a sudden_, _deep voice came from her behind_.

…

Eri was barely able to hold back her outburst of laughter.

Hearing the term 'Princess' paired up with 'Miko-chin' was a bit too much to ignore; even more so when the word was being spoken out by Imadori—with all of his undefeated seriousness—right in front of Mikoto herself.

Even Akira seemed amused.

As for Tenma, she was seemingly particularly interested to what Imadori had to say next. It seemed that she was being absorbed already at Imadori's story. She stared at him intently with a rather serious look on her face.

Harima was more of annoyed now than impressed by Imadori's script. He admitted that Imadori's script—so far—was quite good, actually, but he couldn't help to feel a bit disdain because the script was able to capture Tenma's attention.

Only his script should be able to do that!

…

The only one who seemed a bit lost on what to do was Mikoto. At first she was rather impressed by how Imadori structured his script, the way he chose his words. But now with the emerging of the term Princess Miko-chin, she didn't quite sure that she would ever be even remotely impressed by his script again. A part of her was tempted to stop Imadori's reading here and now, but another part of her was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In the end she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. If, by some strange, twisted, surprising, and ultimately unlikely chance the team would choose his script as the winner, the name Princess Miko-chin could be changed into something else more appropriate anyway.

…

"_Princess Miko_-_chin_." _the deep voice spoke out again_.

_Princess Miko_-_chin turned to see the person calling her name_.

_The person was a big_, _fat_, _and a rather bald man_. _He wore a very tidy uniform_, _with sparkling black formal shoes and a dazzling tie_. _Even his moustache was formed in such a way that it would appear that even the sharpest sword wouldn't be able to cut it through_.

_His name was Nishimoto_, _the head butler of the Princess Miko_-_chin's mansion_.

"_What_, _Nishimoto_?" _said Princess Miko_-_chin_.

…

_Aaah_…, _even her voice exuded such aura of sadness_. _The soul behind such a voice must be a soul tormented_, _a soul that was shattered_, _looking for a way out from a big_, _deep maze that was constructed with walls of desperation and bars of seclusion_.

…

"_I am sorry to disturb you_." _Nishimoto said politely_. "_I knocked on your door_, _but there was no answer_—_and the door itself was not locked_. _So I took the liberty of entering your room_…, _without permission_. _Forgive me_."

"_It doesn_'_t matter_." _Princess Miko_-_chin waved his hand_. "_So_, _why are you here_?"

"_Your father is here_." _said Nishimoto_. "_Along with your fiancée_."

_If it was even possible_, _the sadness ingrained inside Princess Miko_-_chin_'_s eyes were pushed even further down_.

"_My father is here_?" _Princess Miko_-_chin said distantly_. "_Along_…, _along with that_…, _that man_?"

"_Yes_." _Nishimoto said_, _nodding deeply_. "_And My Lord wishes to see you_."

"_Tell my father that I am not available_." _Princess Miko_-_chin said sternly_. "_Tell him I am sick_. _Tell him I am resting_. _Tell him I am in a deep sleep_. _Tell him I am dead_. _Tell him anything_. _I don't want to meet with that man_."

"_But_, _Milady_…" _Nishimoto seemed awestruck by her instruction_. "_Your father persist that he_…"

"_Are you saying that you won_'_t_ _obey my orders_, _Nishimoto_?" _Princess Miko_-_chin said imposingly_.

"_It_'_s_ _not that_…" _Nishimoto said awkwardly_. "_It_'_s_ _just that today you were supposed to_…"

"_What are you trying to say_?" _Princess Miko_-_chin said_, _adding more pressure to her tone of speaking_. "_Are you trying to_…"

_Before she managed to complete her sentence_, _however_, _she heard fast footsteps emerged from down the corridors leading to the door of her room_.

_She stood in horror_, _as if the carriers of the legs responsible for those footsteps were monsters_, _were abominations_.

_Nishimoto realized those footsteps too_, _because he quickly side-stepped onto one of the corners of the room_—_perhaps trying to appear as invisible as possible_, _a feat most likely he wouldn_'_t_ _be able to achieve_, _thanks to his large_, _round_, _stature_.

_The footsteps were getting closer_, _and closer_.

…_And closer_…

…

_And finally_, _the ones causing them appear in front of Princess Miko_-_chin_'_s room_.

_It was two people_: _one was a vile looking_, _wickedly smiling short man with a hair-style so weird that it wouldn_'_t be strange if someone mistaken it as a broom or something_._ This person was Princess Miko_-_chin_'_s father, the cruel man with little love for anything but fame and fortune_,_ Lord Yoshidayama_-_chin_.

…

Eri nearly explode trying to contain her laugh, while Mikoto looked at Imadori as if he was some sort of new species on Earth or something. Akira raised one of her eyebrows.

"Wait." Hanai said to Imadori, raising his hand. "So _chin _is really a part of their names?"

Imadori nodded.

"Well, yeah." he said. "Pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Uh…" Hanai said, unsure about how to best answering that question.

"I think it's cool!" Tenma said enthusiastically. "Very original!"

"Thank you, thank you, Tenma-chan." Imadori bowed himself to Tenma. "Now, to continue the story…"

…

_The other person coming with Lord Yoshidayama-chin was a rather tall and muscular young man. He had this quality of exuding an imposing presence just by being there. His eyes behind the square glasses were staring intently at Princess Miko-chin, as if he was really hungry and the Princess was a very tasty food, ready to be devoured._

_He was the man known simply by the feared name of Sir Hanai, a very rich and wealthy royal descendant from a faraway country_.

…

"Hey!" Hanai interrupted.

Imadori ignored him, and continuing his story,

…

_The look of desire coming from the wicked eyes of Sir Hanai was being greeted by a look of contempt coming from Princess Miko-chin's lovely eyes_.

"_Father_!"_ Princess Miko-chin said aloud_."_Why do you bring this man here_?"_ She pointed her fingers at Sir Hanai_.

_"Why_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said, his voice a bit amused. "Are you forgetting that today is the day that you and he shall become one? Today is the day the two of you are getting married! I've told you this morning that at four in the afternoon you should go to the marriage! But you didn't come!"_

_Princess Miko-chin gripped the railings on the veranda tightly. Her eyes stared deeply onto Lord Yoshidayama and Sir Hanai._

…

_"You even told the servants I've instructed to escort you to the marriage to disobey my orders!" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said with a high-pitched voice. "Just what are you trying to do, my daughter_?_"_

_"But I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM, father_!_" Princess Miko-chin said aloud. "If I am to be married, I wanted to have it with a man that I LOVE who LOVED me back_!_"_

_"I do love you, Princess." Sir Hanai said with a wicked smile_, _no less wicked than Lord Yoshidayama_'_s. _"_Oh, you are the loveliest thing on this planet. You are the one I love the most_!"

_"Lies_!_" Princess Miko-chin retorted. "I know you are lying_!_ The only thing you're interested in is money!"_

_"How so_?_" Sir Hanai said amusedly. "I am already rich, so for what reason am I doing this if it's just for the money_?_"_

_"It's true, my dear_._" Lord Yoshidayama-chin. "Don't be saying such an absurd thing, not on the day that you are supposed to get married_!_" _

_Princess Miko-chin stared disbelievingly at his father._

_"You're the same as him_!_" she said accusingly. "Father_!_ The only thing you consider is more fame and more fortune_!_ You're just trying to make me marry him just that you could expand your treasury_!_"_

_"Didn't I already tell you that you shouldn't say anything absurd, my dear_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said, his voice rose even higher._

_He looked at the trying_-_to_-_be_-_invisible Nishimoto, who stood silently throughout the entire ordeal at one of the dark corners of the room_.

…

_"NISHIMOTO!" he said, aloud_._ "Bring her to the carriage down below_!_ Use force if you have to, I don't care_!_ She must get married today_!_ I don't care if it's already night_!_"_

_"It's better if it's night, actually…" Sir Hanai said, smiling mischievously. "After the wedding, we could start…, ah…, playing…, immediately_._"_

_Nishimoto stared at Princess Miko-chin nervously, his entire body was shaking._

_"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin exclaimed furiously_.

_Hesitantly, Nishimoto moved himself closer to the Princess, slowly. It was clear that he was doing this not because he wanted to, because he couldn't bear to see the pleading eyes of the Princess directly._

_"Come, Princess." Nishimoto said softly, as he grabbed Princess Miko-chin's hands. "We must go_._ You must…, you must obey your father_!_"_

_"NO_!_" Princess Miko-chin shouted. "I don't want to_!_ I don't want to_!_" _

_She was trying to resist, but Nishimoto's grip power was too strong for her to handle._

_She pounded Nishimoto over and over again with her free hands, but to no avail._

_"Nishimoto_!_" Princess Miko-chin screamed hysterically. "Let me go, let me go_!_"_

_"I am sorry, Princess." Nishimoto said solemnly. "I am truly sorry…"_

_"No, Nishimoto, no_!_" Princess Miko-chin started crying, while Lord Yoshidayama-chin laughed and the young Sir Hanai snickered._

…

_"If you really don't want to marry this fine young man, then why didn't you run away, child?" Lord Yoshidayama-chin exclaimed. "Why didn't you run_?_ Instead, you stayed at this mansion, waiting for us to pick you up_!_ Pretty stupid, eh_?_ Well, you've wasted your chance to run; now you WON'T be able to do it_, _EVER_!_"_

_Princess Miko-chin stared pleadingly at the eyes of her father, perhaps still hoping that maybe the bond of father-daughter they share might just be able to soften his wicked heart. But as her stare was being replied with a sinister smile, she knew that she couldn't count on such a fragile hope_…

_"Come, Princess." Nishimoto said, applying more force yanking the Princess' hand._

_"Nooo_!_"_

_…_

_-FLASH-_

_-BANG-_

_-BANG-_

_…_

_All of the sudden, a blinding light appeared inside the room, followed by continuous loud sound of -bang- _

…

"Oh my!" Tenma said, tensing up. "What is going on?"

…

_"What the_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said, surprised, his eyes went fuzzy for a moment because he wasn't prepared to witness such a bright light all of the sudden_.

_The weather outside was clear so it was certainly impossible that the blinding flash he just saw was caused by a lightning strike. No, it was most definitely something else._

_Sir Hanai was apparently thinking the same thing too, since he was also clearly surprised and shocked by the sudden flash._

_…_

_When their eyes have recovered from the blinding flash, what they saw in front of their eyes were even more surprising: Nishimoto was not standing besides Princess Miko-chin any longer—rather, he was laying unconscious on the floor about three feet away from her_.

_But that wasn't the most surprising._

_The most surprising thing was that all of the sudden, there were five other people standing inside the room_!

…

_"Whaaaaa_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said disbelievingly. "W…what is this_?_ Who…who the hell are you all_?_"_

_Princess Miko-chin and Sir Hanai were also stunned by the sudden presence of five other mysterious people inside the room. Both of them were now staring at the sudden intruders without even blinking_.

_The one in the middle, the tallest and the most handsome—and the most attractive to boot—one amongst the other five, stepped forward. Wiping his beautiful glowing and sparkling—and enchanting, plus dazzling—blonde hair a little, the person said,_

_"I am Imadori_!_ The leader of the Defenders of the Love_!_"_

…

Eri was trying _very hard_ to stifle down her laugh, while Mikoto slapped her own forehead, the sentence "I should have known that it would be like this" written all over her face.

Tenma was still excited though (if not even more), and Harima was too busy being mad at Imadori for grabbing Tenma's attention that much, and was busy trying to find ways to impress Tenma when his turn come up later, to even pay attention to Imadori's story.

Hanai scratched his head, unsure whether he could understand the…, uh, "underlying theme", of the story behind the script or not.

Akira? Well, it was quite hard to gauge whether she actually paid any attention to Imadori or not. Her face was looking at his direction, true, but no one could really tell whether she was seriously listening to Imadori or that she was just looking blankly. After all, besides Karasuma, Akira was a master of keeping stoic face at all times. She didn't _appear_ to be distracted or anything, though, so perhaps she _might_ be listening seriously.

…

_The other four stepped forward one by one, introducing themselves grandiosely_.

_"I am Harima_!_" said one of the four, a not-so-bad looking kind-of tall guy, wearing a sort-of cool Sunglasses. "I am the second in command in the Defenders of The Love_!_"_

…

"Oh, that's great, Harima-kun!" Tenma clapped her hands joyously. "You are one of the main heroes on the script!"

"…Well, yea, of course Tsukamoto!" Harima said quickly. "A guy like me could only be a hero in a mov……, what did you say?"

Harima quickly steered his eyes to Imadori, his eyebrows furrowing.

He didn't notice it before because he was busy scheming plans to impress Tenma, but now that he thought about it, he _did_ seemingly hear Imadori was mentioning his name.

"…The hell…?" he mumbled.

Eri was very close at letting loose all of her laugh.

…

_The third person stepped forward. While making a flamboyant style, the person spoke aloud, "I am Takano, the tactical genius amongst The Defenders of The Love_!_"_

…

"Not bad…" Akira mumbled softly.

…

_The fourth person stepped forward. She didn't do any fancy moves or making any extravagant entrance, though—she simply said, "Hello. I am Ichijou, the front-line fighter working for The Defenders of The Love. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." _

_My, what a very polite individual._

…

_Finally, the last person of the four stepped forward. Brandishing her blonde hair, she held her head high and said, "I am Sawachika, the self-proclaimed most beautiful member amongst The Defenders of The Love_!_ Yield before my beautiful aura_!_"_

…

This time it was Mikoto's turn to choke up, while Eri stopped her stifling laugh and then, she stared at Imadori dubiously.

"What?" she said. "_I _am in it _too_?"

"Hey!" Harima exclaimed. "What are you doing with my name in _there_?"

Imadori ignored the protests though—it seemed that he was already being drawn too deep right now by his own script. He continued,

…

_Lord Yoshidayama-chin pointed his fingers at the five mysterious personas. _

_"How did you pass my security guards_?_" he said furiously. "And from where did you come from_?_"_

_The leader, Imadori, flashed a dazzling smile._

_"Security guards do not mean anything for us, the defenders of justice." he said flamboyantly. "Where are we coming from_?_ We are coming from the Garden of Love, answering the desperate call of those whose heart is being trampled by injustice such as the fair princess here. Who we are_?_ I thought we have said that to you_:_ we are none other than the Defenders of The Love, of course_!_"_

_"………Wha_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin said, confused. _

_"I do not expect you, as a human unblessed with the wonderful powers of love, understand my words, nor do I expect you to understand the wonderful reasons behind why we are here now, standing in front of you." Imadori continued._

_He turned his eyes to the beautiful Princess Miko-chin. _

_He approached her. _

…

_Although Princess Miko-chin never before saw this person, and she was as confused as Lord Yoshidayama-chin and Sir Hanai when all of the sudden this person and his other friends showed up just like that in her room, she couldn't even move a muscle or said the tiniest bit of word when he approached her._

_She was already so being drawn by the looks of his handsome face. She was already so being drowned by the intensity and the depth of those clear_,_ blue eyes staring at her right now._

_When he flashed his smile to her, she suddenly knew all too well that she wouldn't be able to ever forget about this man for the rest of her life._

…

At right this exact moment, Mikoto was gathering her strength for a very, very, _**very**_, hard punch. She didn't seem to care that some sort of collateral damage might ensue if she were to punch Imadori inside Tenma's room. She didn't even care about _anything_ else, actually.

…

_"My lady Princess Miko-chin." Imadori said, bowing himself a little. "Your scream evoked the power to call us here, to defend your heart from the evil clutches of these vile men. Surely you don't want to marry that man…" He pointed at Sir Hanai, who gasped a little, "…Because in truth you are not in love with him, correct_?_"_

_Princess Miko-chin nodded nervously._

_"Y…yes…" she said, stammering—she was undoubtedly under-whelmed by the sheer presence of someone as fabulous as the person standing in front of her right now._

_"Very well." Imadori said, smiling. "You don't have to say another word. We will get you out from here, Princess, so that you can find the love you seek out from all of these cages that your despicable father have built upon you."_

_"LIKE HELL I'M GOING TO LET YOU WEIRDOS TAKE HER AWAY_!_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin. "GUAAAAAARDDDSSS_!_"_

_His scream echoed throughout the halls and walls of the mansion. Not too long after that, everyone in Princess Miko-chin's room were able to heard distinct barrage of footsteps coming closer to their location—a lots of people would definitely show up._

_…And it's true. A LOT of people did show up. Large numbers of them—all the supposedly guards of Lord Yoshidayama-chin's mansion._

_"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, letting these freaks inside my house_?_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin approached what appears to be the leader of the guards and slapped him hard on the cheek, while pointing at Imadori and his friends. _

_"I…I am sorry, Milord—b…but we really-really didn't see them coming…" he said apologetically._

_"FOOL_!_" Lord Yoshidayama-chin once again slapped the guards' leader on his cheek_.

…

_"Heeey…, heeey…" Imadori said audibly, turning all of the attention to him. "Don't be too rough on him, Milord. It's no wonder that no one could see us, because the only ones capable of doing that are the ones under the divine protection of Love. You can see us right now just because we let you to_…"

_"Stop talking nonsense_!_" Lord Yoshidayama's anger exploded. "GUARDS_!_ CATCH THESE FOOLS AND CUT THEIR HEADS OFF_!_"_

_Imadori shook his head slowly._

_"I really dislike resorting to violence, but I guess I don't have any other choice…" he mumbled, smiling slightly. "Alright, guys, time to transform_!_"_

_"It's about time you say that, Chief_!_" Eri exclaimed._

_"I…, I am sorry about this… but I will…, have…, to… hurt…, you…" Ichijou mumbled nervously._

_"Now it's time to kick some major ass_!_" Harima said aloud._

_"…" Akira said nothing, but she was posing a cool style too, nevertheless._

_"Alright then…" Imadori said, smiling. He clapped his hand. "TRANSFORM_!_"_

_"DEFENDER YELLOW_!_" Eri shouted extravagantly, and as soon as she said that, her body was being enveloped by a blinding light._

_"D…DEFENDER BLUE_!_" Ichijou said, trying to sound as excited as Eri. Her body was soon being enveloped by a blinding light too._

_"Black." Akira said slowly. Though she sounded not nearly as excited as Eri, her body was also enveloped by a blinding light afterwards._

_"DEFENDER PINK_!_" Harima said aloud, lifting his right hand on a dazzling victory pose. His body, too, was soon being enveloped by a blinding light._

_"And I…, DEFENDER RED_!_" Imadori shouted spiritedly. _

_…_

_All of people on the room were stunned by the magnificent performance done by The Defenders of The Love. They were all staring unblinkingly at the blinding light that was seemingly merged into one._

_Princess Miko-chin's heart was pounding fast…, she couldn't wait to see whatever it is that she would see after the light dissipated later on._

_…The true form of The Defenders of The Love……_

…

……

"And that's the third act of my script, in a nutshell!" Imadori said, tapping his script. "What do you guys think?"

"I think it's awesome!" Tenma said heartily. "I think it's very original! I have never heard anything like that before! You have done a very good job, Imadori-kun!"

"Thank you, thank you, Tenma-chan." he said, bowing his head slightly. "Your appreciation is appreciated. This is the third act of my script, right? Well, the first two acts tell the story about the birth of The Defenders of The Love, and the last two acts tell the story about how The Defenders of The Love is finally able to wrest off Princess Miko-chin away from the evil clutches of his wicked father! And how the Princess finally found her love on the persona of the leader of the Defender himself!"

"That's great!" Tenma said excitedly.

"What about the rest of you guys?" Imadori turned his attention to the rest of the crew. "My script is _so_ great, isn't it?"

…

Too bad for Imadori, that the only person who was enthusiastic about his script in this room were only Tenma and himself.

Akira was staring at him, but she didn't say anything. Hanai too, was staring at him, but he looked like he was confused more than anything.

Eri was also staring at him. Incredulously. She said, "Are you including _me_ in that story of yours? As one of those… uh…, Defender thing or whatever?"

"Well, yeah." Imadori nodded. "I think it would be nice if everyone is having a fair share on this thing…"

"Hey! But I didn't get to be anything!" Tenma protested.

"Oh, your character _does_ available, Tenma-chan!" Imadori said heartily. "But not in the act I've just read. It's on the first and the second act, _and_ the last act!"

"Oh, okay then." Tenma said, smiling happily, seemingly satisfied.

…

"Are you sure you are creating the _correct _script for _our _movie project?" Eri said disbelievingly. A part of her was half-expecting that soon Imadori would flip out his **real** script, saying, 'Ha-ha! Got you with that one!'

"Of course!" he said confidently, and seeing that he was actually serious, Eri couldn't really able to find anything else she wanted to say to him.

…

"Hey, what's the thing about me in _pink_?" Harima exclaimed furiously. "Why do _you_ have red, and the rest of the girls got all the cool colours, while I got stuck with _pink_?"

"Don't you think it's cool, though, Harima?" Imadori said, smiling broadly. "It gives your character a unique flavour, different. You are going to be the centre of attention!"

"Yeah, but I don't want to be the centre of attention because I am_ pink_!" Harima continued fussing.

If Tenma wasn't around, he would pretty much kick Imadori out of oblivion. It was very difficult to hold the temptation to do that as it is now.

He should have known that this guy wouldn't be able to create a good, sensible, script!

…

"Well, what do you guys think?" Imadori asked again.

"Don't ask me." Eri said, shaking her head. "But you might want to _listen_ to Mikoto's opinion on this."

"Right!" Imadori said. "So, Miko-chin, what do you…"

He stopped mid-sentence because he felt chills permeating down his entire skin. When he turned his eyes to Mikoto, he saw that Mikoto has stood up from the bed, staring at him intently. _Really_ intently. Really _really_ intently in really_ not_ a good way.

He froze as he could feel a murderous intent leaking out from her. Even both Hanai and Harima appeared to be a little scared when they saw Mikoto.

…

"Are you _done_ yet, Imadori?" she said menacingly.

"……uh, yeah?" Imadori answered awkwardly.

Mikoto approached Imadori in steady, slow-motion, intimidating, steps.

"…Good." Mikoto said, clenching her fists. "Let me tell _you_ about _my_ opinion."

* * *

Yakumo stared at the pot intently.

…

…The colour has changed… That's the signal for her to turn down the heat on the stove right now.

So she did.

…

She picked a spoon nearby, and shoved it gently inside the pot, taking a small part of what she cooked inside it.

She put it into her mouth, tasting it.

…

She smiled.

_It's good_, she thought to herself. _Thank goodness_.

…

Then all of the sudden, she heard a loud ruckus coming from upstairs. She looked up to the kitchen's ceiling.

……

"Nee-san's friends are really…" she said, contemplating. "…Bustling, aren't they?"

She smiled.

Not that she mind a little hustle and bustle inside her house, though. It put a very new and fresh atmosphere inside her house. And once in a while, cooking for someone else besides her sister and herself was a nice thing to do.

The last time she made something for someone else other than her sister and herself was when she stayed overnight at Harima-san's place, helping him with the manga.

She smiled again, remembering that at that time, Harima-san was very surprised that she was able to cook something decent from things that she could find inside his refrigerator. The surprised look on his face back then was quite…, amusing, to say the least, and she felt a bit of happy when he complemented her, saying that whoever lucky enough to date her would certainly be happy.

…

She stirred the contents of her pot slowly, carefully watching it.

…

_I hope this turns out to be good_…, she said to herself.

…

And in a way, she was sort of curious about what kind of face would Harima-san make later when he later tastes this one…

* * *

"…Are you all right, Imadori-kun?" Tenma said worriedly at the smacked-down Imadori, currently lied on the floor, unconscious, with a very clear mark of an apparently _very_ awesome punch right in the middle of his face. He was certainly in no condition to answer her question.

"Don't worry about him, Tsukamoto." Mikoto said sternly—she has returned to her original spot, on the bed besides Eri. "His endurance is _very_ admirable. I bet even my strongest punch wouldn't knock him out for more than ten minutes, _tops_."

"Yeah, yeah." Eri waved her hands. "Let him…, uh…, rest, for a while there."

"We'd better continue." Akira said. "Who's next?"

"Let's go with clockwise direction." Hanai suggested. "And with that, the next one would be…, you, Sawachika-kun."

"Hey, wait a minute, what's with this sudden clockwise direction thing?" Eri protested.

"I think it's a good idea, though." Mikoto said.

"Yeah…, well after me, it would be you then, Mikoto!" Eri pointed out.

Mikoto shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine." she said casually. "Sooner or later everyone would have to step forward anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, Eri-chan, you're next!" Tenma said enthusiastically. "I want to know about your script, Eri-chan!"

"Just hurry up already." Harima added to the pressure.

…

Eri stared at the faces of her comrades for a while, before sighing, defeated.

…

"All right, then…" she said, as she put down her script on her lap. "But I have copied my work into six pieces, enough one for each of you. So you just could read it, and tell your opinion about it. I don't have to read it like Imadori-kun back then…"

She picked six copies of her original script from inside her school-bag and handed them over to her team-mates one by one.

Tenma was clearly disappointed that Eri wouldn't expose her script in the same way as Imadori—apparently she forgot about the fact the only one forgetting to copy his work was Imadori.

Nevertheless she accepted her share of the copied script without making a fuss when Eri handed it over.

…

"Thanks." Harima said, taking her share of copied work when Eri handed one to him, unaware that Eri was blushing a little when she did that.

As for Imadori, Eri put one right atop his unconscious face.

…

"You guys should be able to read it in a snap." Eri said. "My script is not that long anyway."

"What's this script about?" Mikoto said, staring at her share of the copied script—she looked mildly interested.

"Nothing special…" Eri mumbled as she sat back on her original spot. "I haven't even given it a title yet. Just read it, and tell me your opinion, okay?"

* * *

"Excuse me, Yakumo."

Yakumo switched her attention from her cooking to the one called her. The person was Sara.

…

Sara entered the kitchen with her face looking a little up, sniffing.

"Hey." she said. "Smells delicious."

"Thanks." Yakumo replied, smiling. She continued stirring down the contents of the pot she cooked on the stove right now.

"What are you cooking?" Sara approached Yakumo, taking a look at the contents of the pot.

"Oh, just some…" Yakumo said. "...beef curry. Nothing special or anything."

"Hmmm…" Sara sniffed out the smell coming out from the pot. "Still, it smells very delicious."

Yakumo just smiled.

"Need help with anything?" Sara said.

Yakumo shook her head.

"No thanks." she replied shortly. "Any progress with the script discussion?"

Sara sat at one of the chairs near the dining table. She watched Yakumo's cooking figure from behind, and sighed.

…

"No, not much." she answered. "_Now_ they are busy discussing things about whether the main character should cheat her fiancée or not, as a revenge. They seem to be very serious about the discussion, actually."

"Well…" Yakumo said thoughtfully. "It's supposed to be for the final scene, yes? So it's no wonder that they're trying hard. I've read in a magazine somewhere that the final closure is very significant for how the viewers would feel about a movie."

"I guess." Sara mumbled. "But I suppose we are quite lucky, eh, Yakumo. We are just players for the movie; we don't have to worry about those kinds of stuff."

"Yes." Yakumo replied, sniffing her own cooking a little. "But the day after tomorrow is our turn, remember? That's when we are going to shoot our first scene… It's making me a bit nervous, Sara……"

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Sara clapped her hands cheerfully. "I bet you would look wonderful in front of camera, Yakumo. Even if you couldn't act, the audience would surely love you anyways!"

Yakumo blushed a little from the praise.

"Anyways," Sara continued. "Haruna-san, our main actress, she didn't appear to be nervous at all for the shooting. So you shouldn't worry much about it, Yakumo. Just give it the best you got."

"Yes." Yakumo nodded.

She stirred the curry for a little more.

…

Then, she turned away from the cooking stove. She picked up two empty glasses, and then she walked to the water dispenser. She filled those glasses with drinking water, and then she put one near Sara. The other one she put near herself, when she too sat at one of the chairs near the dining table.

…

"Is it okay to leave it like that?" Sara asked, watching the pot above the stove.

"It's all right." Yakumo said softly. "In order for the flavour to really develop, I ought to leave it like that for about twenty minutes."

"Well, you're the expert, Yakumo." Sara picked her glass and took a sip from it just a little bit. "But you seem to take this thing very seriously—this cooking, I mean."

…

Yakumo gave it a thought for a moment.

…Did she?

…

"Well…" Yakumo said slowly. "It's because this house has never been this crowded before… We've never got this many people before visiting our house… I guess I am kind of…… excited."

…

Yakumo stopped.

…

"Excited?" Sara repeated Yakumo's words.

Yakumo nodded.

For some reason or another, all of the sudden Sara laughed.

…

"…Why do you laugh?" Yakumo asked, bewildered by this sudden act from Sara. "Is there something funny going on?"

"Oh, no…" Sara waved her hands, smiling "No, no, nothing. I just remembered a small conversation between me and Tougo-san a bit earlier…"

"…Which is about?" Yakumo said, still perplexed.

"Oh, nothing important, really." Sara answered while shaking her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary." She smiled as she said that.

She stood up from the chair.

"Yakumo." she said. "Call me and Haruna-san when you're done with the curry, okay? We'll help you carry the food upstairs."

"…Sure…" Yakumo said.

Sara smiled. She turned her body and walked out from the kitchen, leaving Yakumo behind with a feeling that she didn't notice something important, something that Sara noticed but she didn't.

…

…_Maybe it's just me_… Yakumo thought to herself.

* * *

The atmosphere inside Tenma's room was still, and quiet.

The only sound available inside the room was the sound of Tenma's windows rattled because of the wind hammered them from outside.

Everybody (except Imadori, who was still unconscious) was reading Eri's script, while Eri herself nervously stared at the face of her team-mates one-by-one, trying to gauge from their faces whether they like her script or not.

…

From her assessment of their faces, she could come up with a conclusion that there were at least three different reactions from her team-mates regarding her script.

…

One: the positives. This was clearly shown by Tenma, who read her script with a very appreciative attitude. Sometimes she showed a serious face, reading it like it was the final test for a lesson on the school or something. Sometimes she smiled, sometimes she laughed a little. Eri thought that all of that was a good sign, so she guessed that there would be no problem coming from Tenma.

Eri also thought that somewhat positive reactions also coming from Hanai and Mikoto. They both read her copied script very seriously—particularly Hanai—to the point where Eri thought if a plane came crushing down into Tenma's room they wouldn't notice it at all. Although, she noticed that sometimes Mikoto took a pause from her reading and then turning her eyes to her with what Eri thought as a playful look. She smiled teasingly too, every once in a while.

…

Well, at least it seemed that she didn't appear to dislike her script.

…

The second, the negative reaction, as far as she could see, came only from Harima. She noticed, with a feeling of little discontent on the corners of her heart, that Hige didn't read her script with the reaction that she would have hoped. Oftentimes he raised one of his eyebrows, and grumbling slowly here and there. He often said "Hmmm…" too, in a tone that Eri felt didn't sound that positive. Sometimes he also scratched his hair, although Eri didn't quite sure whether that could count as a reaction too or not.

……Too bad Eri couldn't see through his dark glasses……, if she could stare directly into his eyes, perhaps she could see more…

…

Eri shook her head slowly.

_Now it's not the time to think about stuff like this_, she said to herself. _Anyway, even if he didn't like it, he still only got one voice over this matter_……

…

The third reaction was……, how she should say it…, _unpredictable_. She didn't have a clue whether that kind of reaction could be classified as positive, negative, or in-between. It came from Akira.

Her face didn't change at all when she read Eri's script. Her eyes didn't wander, her lips didn't even move—and her body was all in a perfect still. It was kind of eerie, actually. People who didn't know Akira before might think that she was in a serious mood by looking at her face. The trouble was people who _did_ know Akira before, must have known that Akira was the kind of person who _always_ wore that kind of expression _no matter what _the occasion. So even Eri, who had known Akira for a long time, couldn't tell from her expression right now whether she was serious reading the script or not, or whether she liked it or not.

Fifty-fifty though, Eri thought to herself.

…

Imadori didn't count, since he was still unconscious.

…

Eri was eager to know the true judgement from her team-mates, but she decided that she would give them some more time to read her script, so that their judgement could be more precise.

…

……

After about 15 minutes or so has passed though, Eri couldn't bear it much longer. Nervously, she asked, "Well? How about it?"

…

The first one to answer was Tenma. She put down her share of Eri's copied script, stared at Eri, and then she smiled.

"I like it." she said with her sweet smile. "In my honest opinion, it is much better than Imadori-kun's script. Really."

Although that kind of comment was what she would expect coming from Tenma, Eri was glad to hear it nevertheless. One correct prediction and it was a positive opinion! Nice!

…

"Yeah, I agree." this time it was Hanai who spoke. "The characters were nicely developed, and the plot was quite well thought-of. I am surprised that I am actually read something this good."

Eri's heart was thumping with joy. Two correct predictions and the positive ones too! Very nice!

…

"Speaking of plot…" Akira spoke, her eyes squinting at the copied script she held on her hands. "I think that your plot was…, hmm, how should I say it…, very… life-like, Eri."

"…Life-like?" Eri said slowly.

Akira nodded.

"Yeah. It feels like I have seen something similar to this plot unfolding somewhere during my life…" Akira mumbled.

"I see your point, Takano." Mikoto said, smiling a little. "For example: the main character, this girl: a rich Japanese girl born in a foreign country. Somehow she reminded me of someone…"

Eri suddenly realized the direction this conversation would eventually venture to. Before she could say anything, though, Akira intruded,

"Hm." Akira said shortly. "Yes. And this character that the main character 'felt something different' with…, he reminded me of someone…"

"Really?" Tenma said. She opened her copied script once more to find the description of the said character. When she found it, she read it aloud,

…

"A troublesome individual." she said. "A boorish, loud, and an annoying person. But deep down inside there was a kind-hearted soul. An honest, proud man; he was a man that would never stop to give up once he fixed his eyes into a direction. Rugged and fearsome exterior bellies the true nature of this person, which only a few could only see through with their unclouded eyes……"

Tenma stared quizzically at Akira and Mikoto.

"…Do you girls really know this kind of person?" she asked. "Because I couldn't really remember that I have an acquaintance with that kind of description."

Mikoto chuckled.

"Really, Tsukamoto?" she said, her face looked amused. "Maybe you should look a _bit_ closer…"

"ANYWAY!" Eri intruded all of the sudden; her cheeks were a bit flushed. "Should we discuss this matter any further? Why don't we continue on with Mikoto's script? So that we…"

"Harima-kun." Akira spoke, and with that Eri froze in the middle of her sentence, "What do you think about the script?"

Eri quickly steered her eyes to Harima, her heart began to thump a bit faster than before.

…

"Huh?" Harima said, scratching his head and staring at Akira. "You're asking _my _opinion?"

"Yes." Akira said, nodding her head. "What do you think of Eri's script? Especially about the ending where…"

Akira stopped for a moment. She glanced at the script she was holding, and swiftly turned its pages onto the last one.

"…where finally the main heroine realized her 'true feelings', and that she somehow able to find something 'to like' about the 'boorish but kind' man." Akira continued. "What do you think of it?"

"Yeah, Harima-kun!" Tenma added. "What do you think of Eri-chan's script? Do you like it?"

Harima seemingly hesitant to answer the question, but now since Tenma herself also requested his opinion on the matter—and he was a person who just couldn't shake his head in refusal if the one requesting was Tenma—he gave it a thought for a moment.

…

……

After what seemingly like forever for Eri, Harima finally spoke,

…

"Well…" he said slowly. "I wouldn't say that I didn't like it…"

He trudged his fingers alongside the script he was holding, unaware to the sigh of heavy relief coming from Eri's direction.

…

"…What I like the most about the script is the character." Harima said, continuing with his judgement. "Most particularly this…, male protagonist. I like this kind of man. It feels like I've known him from somewhere too, you know? I feel so familiar with this guy."

Mikoto chuckled again.

The amount of thick-headedness surrounding both Tenma and Harima's head were truly astounding.

…

"Thanks to this character, the script and the plot were alive. He was a very well thought-of character." Harima said again. "…I guess that's it. If you are asking me whether I like Ojou's script or not…, well…, I guess I do."

"That's great!" Tenma clapped her hands enthusiastically. "I knew that Eri-chan would be able to make a script that everyone would like!"

"Thanks, Tenma." Eri said, smiling.

Mikoto peeked at Eri, and she felt somewhat happy seeing Eri was sighing in relief once again. It seemed like she was just free from under a heavy pressure or something.

…

Akira hasn't finished just yet, though.

……

"Now that you say you like the male main character." she said in the same level of tone she usually (well, "always" was more like it, actually) spoke with, "…What do you think about the female main character?"

Mikoto quickly moved her eyes from Eri to Harima.

…Now _this_ is something that would make her visit today to Tenma's house worth all the effort!

Eri substantially froze once again. She didn't think that Akira would have gone that far—but she should have known better. This was a situation that she should have known would arise from the moment she started to write that single word for her script—most particularly when there was a person like Akira floating around nearby.

…But now that she's in it, she couldn't help herself not to feel curious about how that stupid Hige would answer Akira's question. Her heart accelerated faster and faster as she was waiting for the answer to float out from Harima's mouth.

…

……

"Well…" Harima mumbled thoughtfully. "I guess… she's okay."

For some reason or another, when hearing Harima's response, Eri's face immediately went bright red. You could almost see puffs of smoke rising from both sides of her ears.

…

Akira smiled a little, though she did it very quickly that no one in the room would probably see her smile.

"That's good enough." she said casually, waving her hand slowly. "As for me, I like it too. Good overall quality."

"All right!" Tenma once again clapped her hands. "Now since we have read Eri-chan's script, it's time for Miko-chan's…"

…

-TA RA TA TA TA TA, TA RA TA TA TA TA-

Before Tenma managed to finish her sentence, a ring tone of someone's cell-phone suddenly rang.

…

It was Eri's. She hurriedly opened her bag, picking up her cell-phone from inside it. At first she was rather surprised to see that there was only one icon left on the battery indicator, signifying that it wouldn't take too long for her cell-phone to die out (_Damn it! How could I forget to recharge the battery!_)

It was indeed, someone was calling for her. She just hoped that whoever was calling her, the conversation would be done before her cell-phone died.

When she stared at the name on the cell-phone's list, however, her expression suddenly changed.

…

…"Excuse me for a moment, guys." she said apologetically. "…It's my father."

"Your father?" Mikoto said, a bit of a surprised look on her face.

"Take your time, Eri-chan!" Tenma said.

"Excuse me." she stood up from the bed, and walked to the location near the window in order to receive better signal for her cell-phone. Akira moved herself from her previous location to where Eri originally sat on the bed.

Everybody was watching Eri while she was talking with her father.

Harima, in particular, was looking at her rather intently.

…

It was rather a peculiar sight for him to witness something right now: the time when Eri wore such a honestly happy, joyous expression on her face. Nothing faked, no pretend—just that: just happy, just joyful. Harima had never seen this kind of Ojou before.

…

…_I guess she really do love her old man, huh_, Harima thought to himself.

…

"Yes…" Eri said conversationally, nodding her head multiple times, her face looked considerably cheerful. "Yes, all right. Yes, I'll be there. Good health for you, father. I love you too."

She closed the connection.

She turned herself to face the rest of her team-mates with that apologetic look on her face.

"News from your father?" Akira asked.

"I am sorry, I am terribly sorry!" Eri bowed herself down. "I need to go, right now!"

* * *

Yakumo opened the door to the room where her team assembled themselves and found to her relief that the debate was still on-going (she kind of wondered how someone could continuously speak in a loud voice like that).

…

"Um…" she said softly, carefully stepping in so that she wouldn't disrupt the debate. She approached Sara and Haruna, both of them were still picking up cookies while occasionally engaged themselves in a casual conversation.

"Sara… Tougo-san." Yakumo greeted them softly. "…Sorry to bother you, but the food for the Sempais is ready…"

"Really?" Sara said. "Well, let's go then, Tougo-san. Let us help Yakumo carry the food upstairs."

"Oh all right." Haruna nodded. "At least I have something to do instead of listening to that endless debate."

The three of them walked out from the room and venture into the kitchen.

…

Like what Sara did previously, when entering the kitchen, Haruna sniffed the delicious smell.

"Oh my!" she said when she entered the kitchen. "What a…" She sniffed again. "…_delicious_ smell!"

"The taste itself would be ten times more delicious than the smell, I can guarantee you that." Sara said, laughing softly. "Anyway, where are they, Yakumo?"

"Oh…" Yakumo replied. "Over there…"

She pointed at the top of one of the kitchen's drawers. Lied above it were seven plates of yummy-looking curry. Anyone who set their eyes upon them and didn't feel their stomach rumbling was definitely not a human being.

"Oh my!" Haruna clapped her hands. "Are those delicious-looking food were made by human hands? I couldn't believe it!"

"Nah, it was made by a goddess, of course!" Sara said teasingly, making Yakumo's face went a little red. "Anyway, seven plates—I figure each one of us could only carry two plates. Should we fetch a person from the debate team to help us?"

"No…no, don't." Yakumo replied. "I'll just have to make two trips. It's not that difficult."

"Maybe you should train Iori so that he could help you with this kind of stuff, Yakumo!" Sara said, laughing softly. "Speaking of Iori, I haven't seen him around, Yakumo—where is he?"

…Now that she thought about it, Sara was right. She didn't see Iori yet from the moment she arrived from school until now. Having many people visiting her house made her mind a bit pre-occupied.

She doubted that anything bad happened to him, though. This was not the first time Iori was out of her sight, only to show up later when he smelled his favourite smelts dangling around from her hand.

…

Anyway, Yakumo felt that she should look for him later, just in case.

…

"Who's Iori?" Haruna said, bewildered because all the talk about training Iori and stuff.

"Yakumo's pet cat." Sara answered. "A cute cat, really. Though he had a habit of disappearing and showing up suddenly…"

"Let us go…" Yakumo said slowly, approaching the plates and picking up two of them carefully with her left and right hands.

"Okay!" Haruna approached the plates and picking up two of them with her left and right hand respectively. "Let us go then, my stewardess comrades!"

"Be careful, okay?" Sara said, approaching the last two plates and placing them in her left and right hands—she did it rather smoothly, maybe it was because she worked a part-time job at a restaurant so that she was capable of that kind of stuff. "Tread slowly. We don't want to spoil the result of Yakumo's hard work with some silliness like tripping over or something, right?"

"Right!" Haruna nodded heartily.

* * *

"Go?" Tenma said worriedly. "Go where? Did something happen to your father, Eri-chan?"

Eri shook her head.

"No, no…, my father's fine…" she said. "It's just that he is about to arrive in Japan in…" She peeked at her wrist-watch, "…about three hours from now. He finally went home after business dealings in America. It was so sudden—he didn't even tell me before that he was about to go home today. He told me that he wanted me to pick him up…… so…"

She once again stared apologetically to the rest of her team-mates.

"So…" she said slowly. "It looks like I have to bail out this time right now from this meeting…"

…

"Oh, just go now, Sawachika-kun!" Hanai said aloud. "A reunion for a father and a daughter is something that is certainly more important than a meeting like this! Most particularly because it was your father himself that requested your presence!"

This encouragement from Hanai cheered Eri considerably.

It wasn't just Hanai, though.

"You'd better go, Sawachika." Mikoto said, "You haven't meet with your father for what long? One month? Two months? I bet your father missed you, and that's why he wanted you to pick you up: you are the first person he wanted to see on the day he arrived back home in Japan."

"Yeah." Tenma jumped into the fray. "You and your father missed each other, right, Eri-chan? SO it would be prudent for you to go now to pick up your father. I am sure he brought with him a lot of neat presents for you from America! How lucky!"

…

Eri turned her eyes to Akira, who just nodded slightly. Then her eyes streaked pass Imadori (who was still unconscious—a reminder to anyone just how powerful Mikoto's punch was) to Harima, who (after a "Hrrmmmh") said, "Just go, Ojou."

…

Eri's face really brightened up from the nods coming from her friends.

"Thank you!" she said cheerfully. She stared at the cell-phone—the battery hasn't died out just yet, but she expected that it wouldn't hold for long. She'd better hurry.

…

Eri dialled the number of her house.

To her immense relief, the one picking up the phone was Nakamura. Good, that would save precious time, then.

"…Nakamura? It's me." she said, unaware that Tenma was now staring her in a bit of an awe because the way she spoke to Nakamura was exuding some sort of a regal-like feeling. "Listen, father had just called me—soon he will arrive in Japan…, yes, yes, he'll be home from America. Father wanted me to pick him up at the airport…" Eri's face turned into such a happy expression that Mikoto couldn't help herself not to smile when she looked at it her, "Yes. Could you please hurry and pick me up at Tenma's house? You know where it is, right? I've told you before…"

…

Harima was also staring at Eri, though what he had in mind when he stared at her was quite different from Mikoto.

…

_Damn_, he said to himself. _Rich people are so convenient with their lives_, _aren_'_t they_? _They could just easily order people around to do anything_!

…

"Oh, Nakamura, could you also bring a nice set of clothes?" Eri said to Nakamura, still through her cell-phone. "…I just want to wear nice things when I greet father at the airport. I just don't want to wear my school uniform on such an occasion. Okay, thanks, Nakamura."

…

Just right after she was done talking to Nakamura, the screen of her cell-phone suddenly went blank.

It looked like the battery had finally died out.

…Well, at least it didn't die out during her talk with her father and Nakamura.…

"Everything's fine, Sawachika-kun?" Hanai asked Eri.

Eri nodded as she tucked her cell-phone on her pocket.

"Yeah. I have to go now… but what about the script?" Eri said. "I wanted to know the creation of the rest of you guys, and I wanted to cast a vote too, on what script we would use for our movie."

"The only one forgot to copy his work was Imadori." Akira spoke out. She took out a copy of her script from inside her school-bag. "You just take his original script for you, in case you want to……review it further. The rest of us could give you our copied scripts so that you could read them later."

Akira pulled out one of the copy of her script from her bag, and gave it to Eri. Everybody else was doing the same—except for Imadori, of course—Eri picked up his original script from above his unconscious face. Eri also picked up her bag laying on the bed.

"…But what about my vote?" Eri asked, stuffing the copied scripts and Imadori's script into her bag. "We are planning to decide it _today_, right?"

"Oh just call one of us later to tell your opinion." Mikoto said casually. "The person you call later will tally the vote and voila! We have the result as quick as tonight. Of course, you and that person later should take responsibility to inform each and every one of us about the result."

"Why don't we just wait for tomorrow?" Hanai suggested. "It would seem less troublesome that way…"

"…Except that everyone in here is _dying_ to know whether his or her script win or not, Hanai-kun!" Tenma said enthusiastically. "We just couldn't wait until tomorrow; right, everyone?"

"You said it, Tsukamoto! I totally agree with you!" Harima said aloud—he had been waiting an opportunity to agree with whatever suggestion Tenma came up with.

Hanai shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine." he said shortly.

As long as he would still get to eat Yakumo's hand-made food today, he wouldn't mind about everything else.

…

"So, who is this person that I should call later…?" Eri said.

By then she just realized something. She didn't know Harima's phone number. Asking his phone number from her friends that knew it already, such as Tenma and Akira, would seem too conspicuous (and she just couldn't imagine what kind of reaction Akira would make should she ever ask Harima's phone number to her).

Isn't now the perfect chance to know his phone number in a not so obvious, natural, kind of way? If she somehow could make it that it's going to be Harima that she would call tonight, _naturally_ he would have to tell her his phone number, yes?

…

"If you want to know Harima's phone-number…" Akira said out of the blue. "Its…"

"I THINK I SHOULD JUST CALL TENMA, THEN!" Eri said aloud, cutting through before Akira had the chance to finish her sentence. "…I _mean_… if it's okay with _you_, Tenma."

Mikoto giggled softly, and Akira seemed amused.

Thank goodness for Eri, Harima didn't seem to catch on the event unfolding before his very eyes.

"Sure!" Tenma nodded. "But the phone in my house is currently damaged…"

"Damaged?" Mikoto said, raising one of her eyebrows. "Why is that?"

"Nothing! Old age equipment!" Tenma said quickly—she couldn't say that it was damaged in the same way her air-conditioner was broken previously—she swung things a little bit too hard and a little bit too enthusiastic when she's playing Mangoku-chasing-the-cat with Iori just the day before. "So you just have to call my cell-phone, Eri-chan."

"Your cell-phone, then." Eri said, nodding her head.

"Aaaand… I forgot to tell you guys, I have changed my cell-phone number." Tenma said apologetically. "Recently, I've bought a new number."

"What's wrong with the old one?" Mikoto asked.

"Nothing wrong!" Tenma answered cheerfully. "It's just that I accidentally found this pretty number when I was walking out with Yakumo two days ago. The number was soo nice that I couldn't bring myself not to replace my old number with it... so I've changed it."

Mikoto sighed slowly.

That's pretty much like Tenma for you, changing her number because of whimsical things like that, unaware that by doing that her friends might get confused when they're going to contact her or something.

"What's the new number?" Mikoto took out her cell-phone from her pocket.

…

_Ooooh_, _Tenma_-_chan_'_s new cell_-_phone number_!_ A MUST HAVE INFORMATION_!

Harima hurriedly took out his own cell-phone, preparing himself to input this most precious information to his address book.

Akira and Hanai took out their respective cell-phones too.

…

Eri was about to reach for hers, before she remembered that her cell-phone had just died out of battery power.

"Uh, wait a moment, Tenma—my phone just died out of battery." she said. "Do you have something that I could write with?"

"Sure." Tenma nodded, pointing at her study desk. "Just rip a paper out from any writing book you can find there."

"Thanks." Eri said.

She approached Tenma's study desk (bypassing Imadori in the process, by the way).

She didn't need a paper with a large size. She just wanted to write down a phone number, anyway. All she needed was a not so big piece of paper, not too big so that it would be a waste and not too small so that she could lose it easily.

…

Then something caught her eye.

A notebook, tucked away at one of the corners of the desk. It was of the perfect size.

She reached it with her right hand and picking it up.

"I'll be using this then, Tenma." Eri said, taking out a pen from inside her pocket with her left hand. "It's just the size I need."

Eri opened the notebook with her right hand.

…

Just when she's about to rip a paper out from the notebook, her eyes suddenly caught something else.

It was right on the first page of the notebook.

A rather long writing—she recognized it as Tenma's hand-writing.

What was so different about it was that Tenma's writing on that first page was embellished with many, many pictures. Pictures of hearts, pictures of flowers (it was done in a childish sort of way, but you still could still clearly that they were meant to be flowers), and pictures of smileys.

What had caught Eri's eyes were not particularly those kinds of stuffs, though. Sure, they were all sort of eye-catching—but for Eri, something else on the first page was even more eye-catching.

…

It was the title above the writing.

It said, clearly, in a rather large bolded font:

"**Lessons I learn from Yakumo & Harima-kun about Dates**."

…

……

Eri's eyes went down from the title.

She was reading what Tenma had written below the title, and she read them with a very serious look on her face.

She didn't even notice that Tenma was telling the others about her new cell-phone numbers. Her attention was entirely fixed upon what she had just discovered on the notebook she's holding right now.

…

……

"_Today_, _I and Karasuma_-_kun went for a double_-_date together with Yakumo and Harima_-_kun_. _It was so much fun_!

_At first I wasn_'_t planning to have a double_-_date like that_. _Really_, _I didn_'_t_. _But Yakumo this morning was so different than the usual everyday Yakumo_. _She actually lectured me something about love_!

…_Yooo_-_hooo_!

_Finally Yakumo has entered a stage where love was not a foreign concept for her anymore_! _That girl was so gullible that many times I am actually worried whether she could accept things like that or not_, _but I guess Yakumo was developing herself while I am not looking_, _and I don_'_t have to worry about that kind of thing anymore_!

…

_I must thank Harima -kun for that_, _I suppose_. _I bet it was because of him now that Yakumo has opened to the possibilities of love_. _Oh it was so exciting, really_!

…

_At our double_-_date today_, _I watched them closely_. _What a kawaiii couple they are_! _I_'_ve never seen Yakumo ever dressed up that long for anything_, _and I_'_ve never seen Yakumo ever spoke so open with a boy like she did today with Harima_-_kun_! _It seemed like Yakumo now is a lot more experienced love-fighter than I do_! _Ooooh_!

_So I observed them_. _I want to know about the things that I should do if I want to date properly some time in the future with Karasuma-kun_. _Since Yakumo is a more experienced person than me, it wouldn_'_t hurt to steal one of her two ways of dating_, _right_?

_Well_, _here are the stuffs that I noticed during our double_-_date_. _Better remember all of these_, _Tenma_!

.…

……

And then Tenma went along with the description of "things she noticed from the way Yakumo and Harima-kun are dating with each other." It was a quite long list, and Tenma had written each point on the list in a way that every person who looks at it would most probably think Yakumo and Harima as the greatest couple on the face of the planet.

Eri read each and every point on the list.

…

……

"Sawachika?"

…

……

Her heart was thumping faster and faster, but not in the way like when she waited for Harima's judgement about her script previously.

No. It was thumping in a different kind of way…

…

……

"Yo! Sawachika!"

"E…eh? what?"

Eri was being pulled away from her reverie by Mikoto calling to her.

She turned to Mikoto, and immediately realized that everyone in the room—save Imadori—was staring at her.

"What are you doing, dazing off like that?" Mikoto said quizzically. "Are you sick or something?"

Eri shook her head slowly.

"No…, sorry." she said.

She ripped apart a page from the centre of Tenma's notebook. She then put the notebook back to where she found it on Tenma's study desk.

"I am sorry, Tenma, I didn't catch your cell-phone number." she said, trying to sound as normal as she possibly could. "Can you repeat it for me? Thanks."

Tenma looked at Eri for a moment, a hint of 'what's wrong with Eri-chan?' question dangling within her eyes. Nevertheless, she repeated her phone number to her.

…

"…Thanks." she said shortly. She folded the paper neatly and inserted it at her pocket alongside her pen.

Mikoto stared at Eri.

She felt that there suddenly there was something different about Eri—about the way she carried herself. And no, it wasn't the excitement because she's about to meet her father.

Something else; something entirely different.

What is it? Mikoto wondered to herself. What's wrong with her?

The change was so sudden that Mikoto couldn't deduce what was the cause.

…

"I…I have to go now." Eri said, trying to sound casual, but she couldn't hide a slight tremble on her tone. "Sorry. Tenma—I'll call you later, ok?"

"Okay!" Tenma answered cheerfully.

Ignoring the questioning mark on Mikoto's eyes, Eri quickly turned to the direction of the door, and walked there.

…

"Excuse _me_." Eri said sternly to Harima who was sitting near the door.

Harima moved himself to the side while staring at her in confusion. She seemed mad at him, but why? He couldn't tell. He felt that he didn't do anything that could warrant her to be mad at him.

He didn't say anything, though.

…

Eri moved her hand to the door handle.

…

-Knock knock-

…

Right before Eri's hand touched the handle on the door of Tenma's room, someone knocked the door from the outside.

"Yes?" Tenma said as she stood up.

"Nee-san." Yakumo said softly from outside. "I've brought something for the Sempais…"

* * *

Eri froze on her tracks.

…

She totally forgot about this.

She totally forgot that Yakumo _did_ tell them that she would bring something over to Tenma's room.

…

"Ooooh, Yakumo-kun has arrived!" Hanai's ears perked up. "Finally! I got to eat Yakumo-kun's hand-made foods!"—he didn't seem bothered at all that he just literally said the biggest reason why he agreed to go to Tenma's house in front of everyone else.

Not that anyone really cared, though.

…

Harima sniffed out the smell coming from the other side of the door. It smelled delicious.

"Is it curry?" he said. "Man, it smells good!"

Eri stared at him for a moment. She stepped backwards to give room between her and the door, staring at the door with her eyes a bit squinted.

…

"Come in, come in Yakumo!" Tenma said enthusiastically. "We have been waiting for you! The door is not locked!"

She stared at the still unconscious Imadori on the floor. That previous punch must have been really powerful.

"Miko-chan, shouldn't you wake him up already?" she said concernedly. "Yakumo worked hard to bring us her cooking; it's too bad if everyone is not enjoying it."

"Oh… all right." Mikoto said half-heartedly. Too bad, though, because she had already began to get accustomed to the quiet and unconscious Imadori. It's quite ironic that Imadori was such a more likeable person when he's unconscious rather than when he's awake.

Oh well.

…

"Um, Nee-san?" Yakumo said from the outside. "If you don't mind, would you please open the door from inside? It's difficult for me to open the door—my hands are full. I just barely able to knock on the door using my elbow……"

"I'll do it then." Harima said, waving his hand to Tenma.

He stood up and opened the door.

…

And there she was, Yakumo, standing behind the door, holding two very-yummy looking curry plates on both her left and right hands.

"Excuse us, Tsukamoto-sempai!" Sara said cheerfully from behind Yakumo. "We are here to bring some supplies to your group, if you don't mind!"

"We don't mind, we don't mind!" Hanai said excitedly—he acted as if the world would end shortly if he couldn't get his hands on Yakumo's food as soon as possible. "Of course we don't mind!"

"It smells delicious, Yakumo-chan!" Mikoto said appreciatively, as she slapped Imadori silly on the face back and forth numerous times. The idea was to wake him up, but with her strength slapping Imadori on his face like that might just cause the reversed effect from what she intended.

Not that anyone really cared, though…

…

"Do you cook all of that yourself?" Akira said.

"Of course Takano-sempai!" Sara intruded before Yakumo herself could answer the question. "These foods were made by Yakumo's goddess hands themselves! So it's a 100 percent delicious-ness guaranteed!"

Yakumo blushed a little from that praise.

…

"Well, they smell wonderful, Imouto-san." Harima said appreciatively. "I bet they taste even more wonderful too!"

"…Thank you, Harima-san…" Yakumo said softly.

Tenma was smiling broadly.

…

……

It seemed like during all the commotion, no one in the room did actually realized that there was one person inside who was not in a positive mood. That person was Eri.

Though she tried her best to hide what was turning upside and down inside her heart, an attentive person could easily see through the façade and noticed that something unpleasant was brewing ever so slowly on Eri's face right now.

…

……

_Is it true_? Eri said to herself.

_Is it true what was written on that notebook_?

_That Tenma and Karasuma_-_kun had a double_-_date with Yakumo and Hige on Sunday_?

_Why Tenma didn_'_t mention anything about that to us_?

…

_Is it true_?

_But Yakumo said during the closing ceremony of _Bunkasai_ that she didn't date Hige_…

_Yet Tenma said on her notebook that they were both had a double_-_date together with her and Karasuma_-_kun_. _And Tenma said that they were a couple_…… _Plus all the stuffs on the list on the notebook_…, _what's the deal with those_?

…

From all the time Eri had known Tenma as one of her closest friends, one thing that she quickly learned that she should rarely take Tenma's words seriously. Tenma was childish and a bit air-headed, and those two traits usually constrict her ability to see through things the way they really are.

But even someone like Tenma was capable of some judgement, right? Childish and air-headed as she may be, she was a high-school student, an _adult_, so she should be capable of deducing some correct assessments about things, right?

If she said that Yakumo and Hige was a couple, maybe then they were _indeed_ a couple. Maybe if the list she made at that notebook suggested that Yakumo and Hige appeared like a great couple having fun during their so-called double-date on previous Sunday, maybe then they were _indeed_ a great couple having fun during their so-called double-date on previous Sunday.

…

Then what's the deal with what she said during the _Bunkasai_?

She still remembered it clearly. Yakumo said to her that she was just merely a helper to Hige; that she didn't go out with him as a couple…

…

Yet the thing Eri just found on Tenma's notebook by accident suggested otherwise.

Yet how Tenma behave concerning the matter suggested otherwise.

Yet how Yakumo herself behave around Hige right now _might_ suggested otherwise…

…

_Was she lying back then at the _Bunkasai?

_Was she lying_?

…

"Sawachika-sempai?" Yakumo said, snapping Eri's out from her thoughts.

Eri didn't realize that during the time she was being drown on her own thoughts, she was staring intently at Yakumo—like she was scrutinizing her.

"Is anything wrong…?" Yakumo said again.

"Nothing." Eri said shortly, unaware of a hint of unfriendly tone on the way she spoke.

Yakumo was aware of it though, because right now she's staring at Eri with a confused look on her face.

…

_Did I do something wrong_? Yakumo asked to herself.

…

Mikoto—and Akira too, it seemed—was aware of it too, because she was now staring intently at Eri, realizing that there was _something_ definitely happened to her (by the way, the slapping miraculously worked—Imadori appeared to regain his senses). She just couldn't finger it on what.

…

"…Are you going somewhere, Sawachika-sempai?" Sara asked, peeking from behind Yakumo's shoulder.

"Ah, yes." Eri answered, forcing a smile. "I…, my father had just returned from America, and he should arrive in Japan in about three hours later or so… I want to pick him up at the airport."

"America?" Sara said, still from behind Yakumo's shoulder. "That's nice! I bet he brought you some very nice souvenirs!"

_I doubt it_, Eri said to herself, but she smiled all the same.

"Yeah, I hope so." Eri said.

…

Eri turned her eyes to Yakumo.

…

"So, I'll be going now." she said in a rather deep voice. "I am sorry that I won't be able to eat your…" she stared at the plates of curry Yakumo was holding both on her left and right hands, "…delicious-looking curry, Yakumo. But I bet _someone_…" she stole a very quick glance at Harima, "…would be more than happy to eat my share of curry."

"Leave it to me, Sawachika-kun!" Hanai said boldly, apparently unaware that Eri didn't refer to him when she said what she just said. "I'll eat all Yakumo-kun's cooking if I have to…Urp!"

A pillow was thrown to his face by Mikoto.

…

Yakumo caught something was buried beneath the way Eri spoke to her, but for all the life in the world she couldn't finger what was it, and what was the reason behind Eri's speaking that way to her.

"I…I see…" she said awkwardly. "…Well, I guess it couldn't be helped…"

"Yes, sorry." Eri said again.

…

_I need to get out of here and clear out my mind_, Eri said to herself. And being in the same room with both Yakumo and Harima would most definitely not what she could say a help on clearing out her mind.

…

Just right at that moment, Haruna, who stood behind Sara, spoke,

"Hey!" she said. "Why the traffic jam?"

She couldn't see anything because her view was blocked by Yakumo and Sara in front of her.

"Hurry, please!" she said once again. "The plates are _hot_ and my hands…"

…

All of the sudden, she felt _something_ head-butting her legs.

It was Iori. It was just a cat. It was just an ordinary cat. It was a cat that was probably being lured there by the delicious smell coming from the curry plates.

But Haruna didn't know at first that the one head-butting her legs was a cat. If she knew, she wouldn't have to act that surprised, jerking out, and loosing her balance.

But she didn't knew, and that's why she was very surprised when _something_ all of the sudden head-butting her legs, and then she was jerking out, and then the next thing that happened was that she lost her balance and trudging forward, knocking Sara who was standing in front of her in the process.

Sara didn't expect that to happen, of course. You could see that she didn't expect something like that to happen because of the surprised look on her face when all of the sudden she felt a sudden force on her back, pushing her forward and causing her to loose her balance. She leaned forward uncontrollably.

Of course, by doing that she was bound to knock Yakumo in the process, because Yakumo was standing right in front of her. Obviously Yakumo also didn't expect that something like that would happen, because she had also that surprised look on her face when she felt Sara knocking her from behind.

Like a domino effect, Yakumo was also losing her balance because she was getting knocked by Sara from behind. Too bad for Yakumo though, because she didn't have anyone standing directly near her to bump to, so she couldn't regain her balance as swift as Sara or Haruna could.

Thus she was tip-toeing unsteadily forward, towards the only person standing in front of her—and that person was Eri.

…

"Aaa…!" she said with a horrified look on her face.

That was the last thing she could ever say, though. She failed to regain her balance, and as the result she collided with Eri.

"Waaah!" was the only thing Eri could say during the whole ordeal. It was all happening so fast and so sudden that neither she nor Yakumo could have time to properly react.

…

-SPLAT-

-SPLAT-

-SPLAT-

…

……

"I am sorry! I am sorry!" Haruna said hurriedly. She managed to regain her balance and to keep the plates of curry she's holding safe on her hands.

She hurriedly moved forward, to see the result of the chain-effect she had started. Sara was alright too—she was able to save herself and the plates of curry she was holding from falling down.

…

But the sudden quiet atmosphere inside the room suggested that something must have happened there. When Haruna looked inside, she found to her horror that Yakumo was not as lucky as her and Sara.

She had fallen down—on top of Eri.

What's worse, it wasn't just her and Eri who had just fallen down. The plates of curry Yakumo held were under the same fate too. The plates themselves were fine, but their contents were splattered through-out the floor, and through-out Eri and Yakumo's body—some were even went as far as staining Eri's blonde hair.

…

……

Everyone was silent.

No one was talking—no one was even moving. No one even _blinked_.

The whole atmosphere inside the room was turned into a perfect silence, perfect still.

Even Eri, who had Yakumo on top of her, couldn't move. It was as if her brain was suddenly jammed.

Yakumo, too, who fell on top of Eri, couldn't move or say anything. It was all so sudden, that she just didn't know what to do. Now that everything has happened, though, like Eri, it was as if a part of her brain just went down all of the sudden.

…

Harima was staring at both them with his mouth slightly open, just like Tenma.

Mikoto was paralyzed, unsure about what was exactly happened in front of her.

Hanai was staring at the sight of her beloved Yakumo-kun on top of Eri with his jaw dropped on the floor. Most likely it would become a scene that he wouldn't be able to forget for a long, long, time.

Imadori, who had just regained his consciousness, was bewildered that as soon as he opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of Yakumo on top of Eri, with Eri covered in some hot-looking liquid or something. "Kinky" was naturally the first word to cross his mind.

Haruna stared in horror to the catastrophe she initiated by accident, and Sara just couldn't seem able to say or do anything in particular.

The only one seemingly indifferent about the whole ordeal was Akira, though it would be very hard to say whether she was surprised or not because she's just that damn good at keeping a stoic face at all times.

…

……

For about a minute or so, nobody moved.

…

Finally, Akira stood up. She approached Yakumo and Eri.

She pulled Yakumo's hands softly, helping her to regain her posture.

"Come on." she said. "How long the two of you are planning to stay in that position?"

It appeared that Yakumo just realized that she was on top of Eri. She immediately stood up, blushing furiously in the process.

Mikoto moved to help Eri getting back on her feet.

…

What a mess. The curry had splattered down on the floor, true, but the worst victim here was most definitely Eri's clothes. Most of the curry contents were splattered there, and… well…

What a mess…

…

Tenma stood up too. She quickly grabbed a _lot_ of tissues from the tissue box on top of the drawer right next to her bed, and she immediately use them to wipe the curry from Eri's clothes as best as she could—though of course, you couldn't just wipe out a whole stain of curry from someone's clothes as easy as that.

Yakumo had some curry stains on her clothes too—but nowhere as bad as those in Eri.

…

Yakumo closed her mouth with both her hands. She was too stupefied at the chain of events to even talk.

…

……

"I… I am sorry…" Yakumo finally stuttered. "Sorry—sorry, Sawachika-sempai."

Eri didn't say anything.

"No, no, no, I am the one who should apologize!" Haruna said hurriedly. She had put down her plates of curry on the floor, probably afraid of tripping over or something. "I…I was surprised because all of the sudden something touched my legs, and then I jumped, and…"

She turned herself to stare at the perpetrator of this whole mess, the black cat of doom, Iori.

No matter how sharp she stared at him, though, she knew that he was just a cat…, and you couldn't really blame a cat for stuff like this, could you?

Iori just meowed.

…

"It was all right, both of you." Mikoto said calmly, as she helped Tenma trying to remove curry stains from Eri's clothes as much as possible. "It was just an accident. Nobody is at fault."

Tenma was now trying to clean the curry splattered on the floor, with the help of Akira.

"But I…, I am sorry…… sorry…" Yakumo repeated herself.

"Don't worry." finally Eri spoke. "Like Mikoto said, it was just an accident."

…

_Yeah_, _an accident_…, _just like when I found that writing on Tenma_'_s notebook_… she said to herself. _It was all just an accident_…

…

It was a calm voice; but a different calm from when Mikoto spoke earlier. A _very_ different kind of calm—and Yakumo was seemingly aware of it.

…

"Are you really okay though, Eri?" Akira spoke out. "You are going to pick up your father, no? Yakumo, maybe you should lend her some of your clothes…"

Yakumo nodded hastily, but just as she started to turn back, Eri stopped her.

"No, you don't have too." Eri said slowly. "I have told Nakamura to bring me a nice set of clothes, remember?"

She untied her pig tails, and let loose her beautiful long blonde hair. She touched the part of the hair that was stained by some curry.

She turned to Tenma.

"Tenma." she said, pointing at the part of her hair that was stained. "I need to borrow your bathroom for a while—I have to wash this up. I also need to borrow your soap, to wash out this curry smell from my body."

"S…sure!" Tenma answered. "Come on, Eri-chan, I'll help you wash it out."

…

"I…is there anything that I can do?" Yakumo said nervously.

"No, thank you." Eri said shortly. "Let's go, Tenma."

She and Tenma then went to the bathroom on the first floor, leaving the rest of the guys behind.

…

Yakumo bit her lip a bit—her face looked very sorry.

"Yakumo…, I am sorry…" Haruna said—it looked like she was on the verge of crying or something.

Yakumo shook her head slowly.

"No…, it's all right… It's not your fault, Haruna-san." she said.

"That's right." this time Harima spoke out. "Like Suou just said earlier, it was all just an accident. More importantly, Imouto-san, you should also clean yourself. You got yourself some nice stains there too." He pointed out at the stains on Yakumo's clothing.

"Harima-sempai is correct, Yakumo." Sara nodded approvingly. She appeared to be very sorry too, to have bumped into Yakumo previously. She didn't say anything about it though, perhaps to avoid making Haruna felt guiltier than she already had right now. "You go clean yourself. I'll help to clean all of the stains on the floor."

"I…I'll help too!" Haruna said hastily.

Sara looked at the plates of curry she was holding.

She entered the room and gave the plates to the still jaw-on-the-floor Hanai.

"Here, Hanai-sempai." she said, smiling sweetly. "For you."

It seemed like the image of her beloved Yakumo-kun lying on top of someone else—a very _insinuating _position, to say the least—was very shocking to him, because he didn't even say anything when Sara handed him the plates. All of the 'Yey I got to eat Yakumo-kun's hand-made food' were seemingly gone, just like that, from his mind.

Haruna picked up her two plates of curry, and putting them down on Tenma's study desk.

It was then everyone heard a sudden honk, coming from below.

Akira walked to the window and stared down to the gates of Tenma's house, which could be seen quite clearly from where she stood.

…

"It was Nakamura-san." she said. "Pretty professional, coming here that fast…"

"Well, you must be good if you are to be the head butler of a family like Sawachika's." Mikoto commented.

…

"I…" Yakumo said, still with that apologetic look on her face. "Maybe I should go apologize once more."

"You don't have to, Yakumo-chan, don't worry." Mikoto said with a comforting tone. "Sawachika is not the kind of person who would hold a grudge over something as trivial as this. Don't worry."

Akira looked down through the window. She saw Tenma hurriedly approaching Nakamura and the limousine. She then saw Tenma was explaining something to Nakamura in a hurry. A while later Nakamura nodded. He opened the limousine, and picked something from inside.

It was a nice set of fresh, clean, dress. He gave it to Tenma, Tenma bowed herself in thanks, and hurried back inside.

…

About five minutes later, Tenma went back outside, this time together with Eri, already changed with the dress Nakamura just brought with him, with Tenma carrying the stained Eri's school uniform on her hands.

Eri and Tenma chatted awhile at the front of the gate, with Tenma bowing herself over and over to Eri, most probably asking for forgiveness for what just happened to Eri (it's not like it was Tenma's fault, though).

Eri patted Tenma's shoulder, probably saying things like "Don't worry, it's not your fault."

Tenma gave Eri's school uniform to Nakamura.

Eri then entered the limousine along with Nakamura (he carried her uniform with him to the front seat), and off they go, to the airport to pick Eri's father up, while Tenma returned back.

…

"Eri and Nakamura-san has gone." Akira informed the rest of the people inside Tenma's room. "I hope she will be alright."

"Don't over-dramatize things up." Mikoto said sternly. "It's not like she was injured or anything—she only got some curry spilled down on herself. There's nothing serious about that."

Akira just shrugged.

…

……

"Speaking of curry!" Harima all of the sudden exclaimed. "This is very delicious, Imouto-san!"

Yakumo was a bit surprised that Harima was actually eating one of the curries that Haruna put on Tenma's study desk. After all of that, she kind of forgot her first intention of coming here to her sister's room.

"Yeah!" Hanai said. He has regained his composure and has actually remembered that the very first reason that he had agreed to come to Tenma's house was actually to eat Yakumo's hand-made food. Now he was busy eating down the curry Sara gave him.

"It was very delicious!" he said heartily.

…

Despite herself, Yakumo actually managed to smile a little bit.

…

Right at that moment, Tenma entered the room.

"Yakumo!" she said. "Your friends are looking for you down below."

"Oh my gosh!" Haruna exclaimed. "We totally forgot about them!"

Sara giggled. The atmosphere had softened a bit, thank goodness.

"You'd better go back." Tenma said.

Yakumo nodded.

"Right… sorry about the whole mess, Nee-san. I'll be going down, then." she said politely. "…I will wash this…" she pointed at the carpet on Tenma's floor which was stained by curry sauce. "…later…"

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Tenma said cheerfully. "Off you go, then!"

"…right." Yakumo said, smiling a bit.

With that, she, Sara, and Haruna went to the first floor, back to their team members.

…

……

Mikoto sighed.

"What a mess." she said. "It was all happening so fast I didn't have enough time to react back then."

"I am sure Eri-chan would be alright!" Tenma said confidently. "We have washed her body with my soap—the curry's odour has completely gone from her body. No worries!"

"That's good." Mikoto gave a sigh of relief.

…

……

"Uh, guys…?" Imadori said all of the sudden, while raising one of his hands, like a student at school wanting to ask something to his teacher. The mark of Mikoto's punch was still fresh on his face. "I…am not following exactly what was going on in here…, but…… _what about the script_?"

* * *

It was already 8 PM in the night.

Normally, a house inhabited only by two young girls would pretty much be quiet, but that was not the case for Tsukamoto's household.

Not when there was a girl called Tsukamoto Tenma around.

Not when she was watching television.

And most definitely _not_ when the show on the television was "The Three Who Were Slashed," featuring Mangoku, played by the actor, Yakushamaru Kouji, yours truly.

…

Every time Mangoku sliced his enemy, Tenma swung around a mop. Every time Mangoku yelled his cries of victory, Tenma also yelled her own cries of victory. Every time wicked bad guys ambushed him out of the blue, Tenma would yell, "Injustice, injustice!" And so on, and so forth.

No wonder it was quite lively here in Tsukamoto's house. Any thief planning to break into the house might probably would reconsider his plan, thinking that there was a party going down on the house or something.

…

……

Now the television was playing a commercial, so Tenma was cooling down a bit. Yakumo, who never been able to talk properly with her sister during the show, seized this chance to strike a proper conversation with Tenma.

…

"Nee-san." she said, softly. She was rather glad that The Three Who Were Slashed was a very popular show—thus it was filled with plentiful of commercials during its break—providing enough time for Yakumo to converse normally with her sister.

"What?" Tenma said, puffing out. She had just imitating Mangoku's secret technique of cutting down one hundred bad guys, so she's a bit out of breath.

…

"I never get to know the result of your meeting." Yakumo said. "How was it? Whose script your team will finally use?"

…

"Well…" Tenma said, contemplating. "The meeting went like this, Yakumo. Nobody was voting for Imadori-kun's script, so he was out of the picture… Then, Imadori-kun voted for Miko-chan's script—that was obvious. Miko-chan got one vote."

"…And then?" Yakumo asked.

"Harima-kun voted for _our_ script, Yakumo!" Tenma said cheerfully. "I didn't think that he would vote for our script. So that's one vote down for _us_."

Tenma stopped for a moment, apparently thinking about something.

"…But he seemed surprised when I reveal our script, Yakumo." Tenma said. "Like he was in some sort of a shock or something."

…

Of course, it's only normal for him to be shocked, because Tenma based her script on the story Yakumo told her, and Yakumo based her story on _his_ story.

……Now that she thought about it, she _did_ reveal Harima-san's secret to her sister, about the whole manga thing; only that she did not do it in a blatant, obvious kind of way.

Suddenly Yakumo felt worried. Harima has specifically asked her _not_ to spill his manga secret to anyone, _most particularly_ her sister. But in a way, Yakumo just did that, to her sister too, nonetheless.

…

Yakumo felt worried that Harima would be able to make the connection the story on her sister's script was really about him, and that the one spilling the beans was none other than Yakumo herself.

……

………

"But then…" Tenma continued thoughtfully. "Right after being shocked, all of the sudden he grinned…"

…

"Grinned?" Yakumo said slowly.

"Yeah!" Tenma nodded her head. "Like, he's really happy about something. He didn't even seem so upset anymore about his script didn't get any vote. I just don't get it…"

…

Yakumo didn't get it too…

But at least she felt _really_ glad that Harima-san didn't appear to be upset over the revealing of her sister's script.

…

"Miko-chan voted for Eri-chan's script." Tenma continued her explanation. "She said that she liked the script. So that's one for Eri-chan. _I _had a hard time to decide where I should put my vote to, since I couldn't vouch for _our _script..."

"…So, whose script you chose?" Yakumo continued to ask. "Harima-san's?"

Tenma shook her head.

"No…, I felt kind of bad to Harima-kun, since he voted for our script and all… but I _really _liked Akira's script, so my vote went for her." Tenma explained. "Her script was so unique! Everybody was quite surprised when she unveiled her script!"

Knowing her sister, Yakumo didn't pursue to ask what was it that was "so unique" about Takano-sempai's script. If she were to ask, her sister might try to explain it to her thoroughly through-out the night, non-stop.

…

"So that's one for our script, one for Miko-chan, one for Eri-chan, and one for Akira-chan." Tenma said, raising her fingers one by one. "Harima-kun didn't get any vote… too bad. I figure at first that Hanai-kun would vouch for him, but…"

"Hanai-sempai didn't get any vote?" Yakumo asked.

Tenma shook her head.

"No." she said. "Miko-chan said that no wonder he didn't get any vote, because Hanai-kun's script was……"

Tenma stopped all of the sudden. She stared at Yakumo, apparently thinking of something.

"…Hanai-sempai's script was…?" Yakumo said, raising one of her eyebrows.

"No, no, no, nothing." Tenma shook her head once again and waved her hands a bit frantically. "Nothing. Anyway, Hanai-kun didn't get any votes too, so there was none among the boys who got any vote whatsoever. So it's finally the showdown between the girls!"

Tenma said that last sentence in such a full spirit that Yakumo couldn't help herself not to smile watching it.

…

"So, Hanai-sempai's vote went to whose script?" Yakumo said.

"At first I thought that he would give his vote to Miko-chan…" Tenma said thoughtfully. "But I was quite surprised to see that he finally gave his vote to _our _script, Yakumo!"

…

Yakumo didn't get any surprise at all hearing that, actually. Seeing that her sister was always using the term "our" to describe her script, during the meeting she must have slip out the fact that her script, in fact, was based upon something that came originally from Yakumo.

And well… after that, it was quite obvious about whose script Hanai-sempai would choose…

…

……

Yakumo actually blushed a little by thinking that way, but she felt happy all the same that her "influence" on her Nee-san's script would actually make Hanai-sempai voted for "their" script.

…

"So…" she said slowly. "Our script got two votes…"

"Yeah!" Tenma exclaimed happily. "But don't feel glad yet, Yakumo, because we've still got one vote left: Eri-chan's!"

"Ah…"

"Yup!" Tenma said. "Tonight she is supposed to call me, to tell me about her vote. If she later votes one of the girls' scripts except ours, then tomorrow we have to make a re-voting between our script and that script she voted."

"I see…"

Yakumo turned her eyes to the television. It was very impressive how the people running Touto television actually managed to squeeze all of those commercials into her sister's favourite show, because the commercials were still running right now.

…Not that she would complain about that, though.

…

"…I still feel bad to her, Nee-san." Yakumo said quietly. "About what happened today. I should go apologize again tomorrow at school."

Hearing that, Tenma laughed softly.

"Yakumo, Yakumo, Yakumo." she said. "First of all, it was just an accident, and no one got hurt or anything. Second of all: it wasn't everybody's fault. Third of all: Eri-chan's herself said that it's okay. As far as I am able to conclude, what was happening today is already over. Zip. Nada. Over. Why do you get so worked up over the incident anyway?"

Yakumo didn't answer the question.

…

It's true, though, that if you really looked into it, unexpected as it was; what was happening back then in Tenma's room wasn't really something serious. Sure, she spilt some curry over someone else's clothing by accident, but it wasn't something that someone would actually think about all day long or anything. In fact, most people would probably chuckle themselves when they remembering that kind of thing.

No one got hurt.

It was an accident.

And the victim herself already said that she was okay with it.

…

But why did Yakumo felt something……, something _different_?... something unusual from the whole things happening back then.

……

She felt like Sawachika-sempai was staring at her differently right from the moment she entered her Nee-san's room. There was a hint of unfriendliness on the way Sawachika-sempai talked to her. There was a hint of coldness inside Sawachika-sempai's voice.

Something in the way she acted, it was as if Yakumo had done something terribly wrong to her and she was holding some sort of a hidden grudge about it.

…

But what?

For all the life in the world Yakumo couldn't think of any reason why Sawachika-sempai would all of the sudden act that way towards her.

The last time Sawachika-sempai act all unfriendly towards her was during the whole misunderstanding fiasco about her relationship with Harima-san…, which reached its peak when—due to all sorts of this and that—she inadvertently took a part on 2-C's theatrical play.

But she cleared that up, right…?

…

She… she already told Sawachika-sempai the…true…nature of her relationship with Harima-san when she danced with her at the closing ceremony…… right?

She knew that Sawachika-sempai was not the kind of person like her Nee-san, whose mind was so impenetrable that sometimes Yakumo just felt helpless about trying to remind her every time her Nee-san teased her about her relationship with Harima-san.

…

So everything was over, right…?

…

……

_So why it felt like I_ _have done something wrong towards her even before the curry incident_? Yakumo thought to herself. _I felt that she was mad to me about_…_something_…

…

That's why she was a bit worked up about the whole curry incident. She feared that it was only further fuelled Sawachika-sempai's anger towards her, even if Sawachika-sempai said it was okay, and even if she didn't even know the reason behind Sawachika-sempai's anger towards her in the first place.

…

……

Yakumo stared at her sister, who was now starting to get excited again because the commercials were already over.

Probably they wouldn't be able to hold a decent conversation right now, no thanks to Mangoku, but Yakumo figured that she should just try anyway,

…

"Nee-san?" she said.

"Hmm?" Tenma replied, with her eyes still fixed on the television screen.

"When… Sawachika-sempai calls you later…" Yakumo continued. "Can I borrow your cell-phone for a while? I want to… talk to her about something."

"Sure!" Tenma said.

She answered that so fast it appeared that she wasn't actually thinking when she's doing that. Yakumo didn't even sure whether her Nee-san actually heard the question or not: she sort of felt that when Nee-san would just simply say "Sure!" in reply to anything said to her right now.

…

…Well…, it's good enough, Yakumo said in her mind.

…

About six minutes later, Tenma's cell-phone on the table suddenly rang.

…And such was the concentration Tenma had in her mind when she watched The Three Who Were Slashed that she didn't even notice that her cell-phone was ringing.

"Nee-san…" Yakumo said to her sister.

Her sister didn't react, while the cell-phone was continuously ringing.

…

"Nee-san!" Yakumo said, a bit louder.

Thank goodness that right at that exact moment, the show was being halt yet again by commercials. Truly a sign of a very popular show—the commercials were very often and most of the time they took up a _lot _more time in the show than the actual show itself.

With the show out of the picture (!) for a while, Tenma was now able to hear her cell-phone rang.

"…Oh no!" she said as she ran to the table (it was Tenma's custom to actually watch the show while standing, so that she could swing around her arms when Mangoku kicking ass on the screen), sat next to it, and hurriedly answered the call.

…

"_Moshi_-_moshi_. _Tenma_?" it was Eri's voice coming from the other side of the phone.

"Oh, Eri-chan!" Tenma said cheerfully.

Yakumo jerked up a bit.

Tenma gave Yakumo the signal to turn down the television's volume, so Yakumo picked up the remote and do what her sister just told her to do.

…

"How's the deal with your father, Eri-chan?" Tenma asked. "Everything's okay?"

"_Oh_, _yes_." Eri answered. "_Don_'_t worry about that_. _Everything_'_s fine_. _My father is now sleeping_, _after having dinner with me_. _He must be exhausted from all the trip he must endure from America to Japan_."

"I see." Tenma said, feeling relief that everything was okay for Eri and her father. "But he's okay, right?"

"_He_'_s fine_, _he was just tired_. _That_'_s all_." Eri replied. "_But we got to talk quite a bit during the trip from the airport to our house_, _and during the dinner we're having together_. _It was quite fun_."

Eri sounded so cheerful at the phone right now that Tenma couldn't help herself not to be cheerful too.

…

"_Anyway_, _Tenma_, _enough about me and my father_. _What about the meeting_?" Eri asked. "_Has the winner been decided yet_?"

"No, not yet." Tenma answered. "We are waiting for your vote on the matter, Eri-chan."

"_Well_, _I figured that if someone_'_s script already gathered four or five votes_,_ my vote wouldn_'_t matter anymore_, _right_?" Eri said. "_So_, _what_'_s the situation_?"

Tenma explained to Eri what she previously explained to Yakumo.

…

"_Ah_, _I see_." Eri said when Tenma finally done with the explanations. "_So the boys didn_'_t get any votes_, _and their chances to win this thing were pretty much blown to oblivion_…_Well_, _I'm not saying that I am surprised about that_, _though_."

Tenma giggled. Sometimes the way Eri worded things up was quite amusing for her to hear.

"_And seeing that I can_'_t put a vote to my own script_, _I guess my chance to win is already gone too_, _eh_?" Eri said from over there.

Tenma stopped giggling.

…

"Ah…" she said with an apologetic tone. "I…, I am sorry about that, Eri-chan."

Eri laughed softly over the phone.

"_Silly girl_, _why do you have to apologize_?" she said. She appeared to be amused. "_It_ _was all fair and square_, _and I won_'_t upset or anything with you cast your vote to Akira instead of me_. _Don_'_t worry about it_, _Tenma_."

"Oh…" Tenma sighed with relief. "Okay."

"_So_…" Eri continued. "_If I choose either Mikoto or Akira_'_s script_, _then tomorrow we would have to commence a re-voting session between your script and the script I choose right now_."

"Yes." Tenma nodded her head.

"_But if I choose your script right now_, _then that_'_s that_! _Your script shall be the winner_, _right Tenma_?"

"Yes…" Tenma said, a bit nervous.

In reality, she _really _hoped that Eri would vouch for her script, because that would mean that the combined effort of herself and Yakumo actually become the official script of her group for Sasakura-sensei's movie project, and not only that would _greatly_ please her, she was sure that it would make Yakumo happy too.

But of course, she couldn't just say that directly to Eri.

…

……

"_Well_…" Eri said, contemplating herself. "_I have read all the scripts_. _And what_'_s the deal with Akira anyway_? _Making a script like this_? _It is just so weird_."

Tenma couldn't help herself not to laugh hearing that assessment, her nervousness evaporated in an instant.

Her mind flew to the moment today when Akira finally revealed her script to the rest of the team. The astonished looks from everybody's face back then were just _so_ amusing.

…

Akira's script in the nutshell: it was a story about an undercover female spy-detective extraordinaire, being hired by a famous politician to spy upon her own wife, because the famous politician suspected that her wife was having an affair with his greatest political rival. His greatest concern was not the fact that his wife was having an affair with someone else, but the possibility of that greatest rival of his would use his wife to obtain invaluable secret information about him that his rival could use to topple him off from the opposition.

So he hired that undercover female spy-detective extraordinaire to investigate the suspected affair. He thought that if the affair was true, then he could make it to work on _his _favour. If he could get the hard-cold evidence that his wife was having an affair with his rival, he could use it to expose the affair to the public, saying that his rival was the kind of wicked man who would use dirty tactics such as wooing someone else's wife just to get the things that he need.

_That_ would put a heavy negative impression from the public upon his rival. Of course, the public would have a negative impression upon his wife too, but that wasn't his main concern. At least the public would view him as a man victimized by his own scandalous wife and his dirty rival. That would push his popularity among the public through-out the roof, without a doubt.

Of course, the affair was true enough, and the undercover female spy-detective extraordinaire was able to make hard-cold evidences in the form of photographs and recorded video of that affair when she managed to sneak in to the mansion of the rival and witnessed the affair itself with her own eyes.

Unfortunately, due to an accidental fluke, the guards of the mansion spotted her, and the rival soon realized that someone was spying on him when he was all mushy-wishy with the betraying wife. He too realized the fact that whoever sent the spy would try to expose this affair in an effort to blow up his positive image in front of the public.

Of course, he couldn't let that happened!

…

So the rest of Akira's script tells the story of the undercover female spy-detective extraordinaire trying to escape the grasps of the rival's guards trying to catch her and the evidences of the affair. It involved many extraordinary things, including—but not limited to: car-chases, bike-chases, swimming, camouflaging, even the act of masquerading as a nun.

Of course, they wouldn't call her the undercover female spy-detective _extraordinaire _if she wasn't the kind of person who couldn't finish a job like that, even with all the obstacles and the dangers involved. So she finally succeeded, and the evidences were successfully delivered to the man who hired her.

The famous politician went public with that evidence, and as he got the expected results. The public was booing his rival as a man who would go as far as trying to steal someone else's wife just to get his needs, and the public was booing his wife as a cheating woman. Well, not that the famous politician cared about his wife being hammered down by the public though, because just as he predicted, his image as the victimized person _boosted_ his popularity among the public very considerably.

In the end, the whole incident really helped him to gain a very important position on the government.

…

……

When Mikoto asked Akira how she could consider a script like that as a _romantic _script, Akira said nonchalantly that her script _did _involve _a _romance between the cheating wife and the rival. She even mentioned the word 'love' on her script approximately…, twelve times. So it should be enough, right?

In the end, everyone was just wondering just how she could _possibly_ come up with a script like that.

She got no vote, save from Tenma, who found her script to be _really_ exciting.

…

……

"Are you going to vote for Akira-chan's script, Eri-chan?" Tenma asked.

"_Are you crazy_?" Eri said disbelievingly from the other side. "_Even if we to ignore the fact that the script is so weird and out of place for a project like what we're trying to do right now_, _how could we possibly come up with the budget to fund all of the car_-_chases scenes and such_? _I couldn_'_t believe Akira came up with something as crazy as this_. _So_, _no Tenma_, _my vote is not going to her_."

"I see." Tenma said. "So, to Miko-chan's?"

…

Eri was silent for a moment there. Tenma could heard the sound or rustling papers coming from Eri's side—it appeared like Eri was holding the scripts themselves right now.

…

"_Her script was indeed_ _interesting_…" Eri mumbled. "_But_……, _Tenma_, _did you know what happened to her a long time ago_, _around the time we watched the firework festival together_?"

Tenma tried to return her mind to that mind.

"No…" she said—she wanted to say 'around that time you were having a fight with her, Eri-chan?'—but in the end she decided against it. "Why do you ask me that?"

"……"

"Eri-chan?" Tenma said.

"…_Nah_. _Nothing_. _Forget it_." Eri finally replied.

Tenma had the feeling that Eri was hiding something from her, but she didn't press the matter further—if that was a thing that she should know, Eri would have told her already. So she didn't ask any more questions about it.

…

"So, anyway, about your vote, Eri-chan…" Tenma said nervously.

"…_You know what_, _Tenma_." Eri said. "_I think I_ _am going to cast my vote for your script_."

…

……

It took a couple of moments for Tenma to actually digest what Eri just said. She thought that she heard it wrong, or that there was something wrong with ears.

…

"W…What?" Tenma said.

"_That_'_s what I said_." Eri said again, this time with a more assuring tone. "_I want to give my vote to your script_, _Tenma_."

"…A…are you sure, Eri-chan?" Tenma said, stuttering because of the building excitement within herself.

"_Of course I am sure_." Eri answered confidently. "_Why do you act so surprised_, _anyway_? _You should be happy now that your script is the winner_. _Congratulations_."

Now that she was sure that she didn't misheard what Eri just said, Tenma couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

She yelled out a loud "Yeah!", while simultaneously punching her left hand on to the roof, making Yakumo who sat near her jerking up a bit out of surprise.

…

"…_Wow_, _Tenma_." Eri said from over the phone, she appeared to be amused by Tenma's sudden yell. "_Calm down a little_."

"I am sorry, I am sorry!" Tenma said, while smiling broadly. "It's just that, I didn't think that you would cast your vote for _our _script, Eri-chan."

"_Well_…… _your script is surprisingly good_, _Tenma_. _I didn_'_t know that you are able to write something as good as that_." Eri explained.

She stopped for a moment, apparently thinking for something.

…

"_What do you mean by _'_our_' _script_, _Tenma_?" Eri asked slowly. "_Do you have someone helping you making your script_?"

"Yes, of course!" Tenma said cheerfully. "I mean, I _do_ write all of the script all by myself, but the original idea was coming from Yakumo!"

…

……

"_I_…_ see_." Eri said slowly. She inadvertently changed the tone with which she spoke, although Tenma was too happy right now to actually aware of it.

…

"_It must be wonderful_…" Eri continued. "..._to have such a dependable young sister by your side_, _eh_, _Tenma_?"

"Of course!" Tenma answered cheerfully. "Oh, speaking of which, Eri-chan, Yakumo said that she wanted to talk with you about something."

Tenma peered to her sister while at the same time Yakumo was also looking at her.

…

"..._Talk to me about something_?" Eri's voice suddenly became a bit deeper. "…_About what_? _If it_'_s about the curry incident_, _tell her that it was okay_—_I am not upset by it_."

"Well, that's what I have been trying to tell her." Tenma said, nodding her head. "But she still wanted to talk to you about something. Here, I pass the phone to her, okay?"

"_Wait_, _Ten_…!"

Tenma didn't hear Eri's last words because she already passed her cell-phone to Yakumo.

Tenma mouthed 'Our script won!' to Yakumo, making Yakumo smiled.

…

Yakumo moved the cell-phone to her right ear, before saying, a bit nervously, "Moshi-moshi… Sawachika-sempai?"

…

……

………

The commercials were over, and the show has resumed. By this time Tenma was usually standing up, walking to the front of the television set again, preparing herself to cheer on Mangoku's awesomeness.

But she didn't do it this time—because amazingly, something distracted her from her most favourite show.

…

At first she felt that it was kind of odd that Yakumo didn't talk at all while holding her cell-phone. When she looked to her direction, she saw to her bewilderment that Yakumo's expression has changed.

Her face looked a bit down.

…

"Yakumo?" she said worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Yakumo looked up to her sister, smiling.

"…Nothing." she answered as she gave the cell-phone back to Tenma. "Nee-san, I want to go sleep right now. Is that okay with you?"

"Are you sure?" Tenma asked, taking the cell-phone back. "You don't want to watch the rest of the show together with me?"

Yakumo shook her head slowly.

"No…, I am sorry." Yakumo said as she stood up. "I am…rather tired today."

"Oh…" Tenma said.

Well, she also had that meeting for her group, so Tenma figured that it would be natural for her to get tired, after all. Besides, Yakumo was not that big of a fan of The Three Who Were Slashed, unlike Tenma, who just by staring at the show title alone would get all of her energy re-energized in an instant.

"Okay, then, Yakumo." Tenma smiled. "Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Nee-san." Yakumo said softly.

With that, Yakumo walked out from the living room.

…

……

Tenma felt that something was happening to her sister, but she couldn't figure it out.

When she looked at her cell-phone, however, she noticed something.

She noticed that there was a word there, a warning coming from the program on her cell-phone.

…

It said,

-DISCONNECTED-

* * *

**To Be Continued**


End file.
